THOMAS RIMES APPOINTED AS TYO CHIEF CONDUCTOR
TYO is delighted to announce the appointment of Thomas (Tom) Rimes to the role of TYO Chief Conductor. Tom will take up this vital artistic leadership role in early 2025, as we commence the celebrations for TYO’s 60th anniversary year. Welcome Tom!
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Tom brings a wealth of experience across diverse musical settings, having worked extensively across Europe, the United States, China and Australia as an operatic and symphonic conductor and as a composer/arranger of numerous stage works.
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Growing up in Hobart, Tom trained in choral singing, piano performance and chamber music with a number of outstanding Tasmanian music educators. From 1995, Tom undertook postgraduate studies in orchestral conducting in the USA, working with the Washington National Opera, the New Olivet Baptist Church in Memphis and the Washington Concert Opera; and was awarded the 2006 Georg Solti Foundation prize for an emerging operatic conductor. While living in the US, Tom was regularly invited as a guest conductor to Italian summer opera festivals, in particular the New Opera Festival di Roma and Opera Ischia.
​A move to Europe followed in 2009, where Tom was engaged as a Kapellmeister (staff conductor) for 10 years at opera houses in the German cities of Kassel and Gelsenkirchen. During this time, he continued to undertake guest conducting roles across the US, Germany and China. Parallel to his conducting career, Tom composed numerous large-scale works – including two full-length operas – and many choral compositions.
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Tom and his family returned to Tasmania in 2019, where he will be familiar to many as the Director of Music at St David’s Cathedral, Director of Music at Sacred Heart College and a regular collaborator with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and TSO Chorus, Terrapin Theatre, Archipelago Productions and the MONA FOMA Festival. Early in 2024, Tom was Guest Conductor with the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra, guiding them to an outstanding May performance at the Federation Concert Hall. Tom also works regularly with our wonderful youth orchestra colleagues at Sydney Youth Orchestras and with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.
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“I had the privilege of growing up in Hobart and benefiting from Tasmania’s rich musical scene,” said Tom. “As I have developed my career as a professional musician, my appreciation of the value of these early experiences in music education has grown. Having returned to live in Tasmania after many years working overseas as a performing musician, conductor and composer, I have been determined to share my musical experiences and training to a younger generation of musicians. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the outstanding community of young TYO musicians as their Chief Conductor.”
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Tom will undertake the Chief Conductor role on a part-time basis in 2025, conducting the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra and providing artistic leadership for the organisation. Tom will be supported by Alexander Rodrigues, who has been appointed as Associate Conductor with responsibility for TYO’s 2025 collaborations. Warm congratulations to you both! Tom and Alexander will work with TYO’s outstanding 2025 conducting team: Jack Machin, Madeleine Dyer, Kim Bishop, James Anderson, Wendy Page and Grace Ovens; as well as repetiteurs Gabby Cayoun and Andrew Morrisby and core strings tutor Jess Wright. We look forward to a wonderful year of youth music in 2025 under the guidance of such exceptional artistic specialists.