Meet our Principals

Dexter Drown is an imaginative and versatile conductor who has been praised for his utterly magical performances of passion, confidence, and flair.

This season, alongside his as conductor of The Sinfonia Stellaris, Dexter has worked with musicians from the Orchestra of the Swan on premiere recordings of new works, led concerts with contemporary music ensemble The Hadit Collective, and makes his debut with the Midland Sinfonia. As well as his work with professional orchestras, Dexter was delighted to conduct the Leicester Symphony Orchestra for a concert in the De Montfort Hall.

In addition to his passion for Orchestral music, Dexter is a distinguished and inspiring choral conductor and choir trainer. He has worked as chorus master for conductors including Sir Karl Jenkins, Toby Purser, and George Jackson in some of the UK’s most prestigious venues, such as The Bridgewater Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Usher Hall, and St David’s Hall. Dexter also conducts the East Oxford Community Choir and Orchestra and is on the faculty of the Chester Choral Week, sharing his love of choral music with singers across the country.

Dexter is the Musical Director of two award winning chamber choirs – The Sitwell Singers and The Derwent Singers – with whom he has conducted performances of a broad and challenging repertoire ranging from Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil to Kenny Wheeler’s Sweet Time Suite.

Proud of his imaginative and thoughtful programming, Dexter is a champion of brilliant music by unjustly neglected composers, and he frequently collaborates with composers to showcase the best music of today. Recent premieres include Phillip Matty’s Opera Jabberwocky, Aidan Teplitzky’s Escapism, and a studio recording of Julien Durand’s Awakening of the Voice.

As an assistant conductor Dexter has worked with Ben Palmer, Nicholas Braithwaite, Michael Seal, Paul Wingfield, Fraser Golding, and Jeffery Skidmore on projects ranging from Baroque Opera at the Warwick Festival to recordings of new music, played on the BBC.

Proudly State Educated, Dexter is as passionate about learning as he is about music making. He has been fortunate to participate in Masterclasses with Kazuki Yamada, Nicholas Collon, Paul Murphy, Peter Stark, Kenneth Keisler, and Daniel Bortholossi.