Tom Primrose is a British conductor, accompanist, and coach, celebrated for performances marked by discipline, grace, and imagination. Critics have praised his conducting for its “rhythmic verve,” “unostentatious authority,” and “immaculate control”, as well as his ability to elicit “incisive playing” and “witty and engaging” performances with “challenging extremes of expression.”

His recent conducting engagements include Antony McDonald’s acclaimed production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Grange Festival, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus in Lucerne, and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius in Cambridge, and Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Bournemouth Symphony and Newbury Festival Chorus in May 2025. As a freelance conductor, he has worked with esteemed companies worldwide, including Opéra National de Paris (Palais Garnier and Bastille), Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Theater an der Wien, Royal Danish Opera, Polish National Opera, Korea National Opera, Norwegian Opera in Oslo, and Mariinsky Hall in St. Petersburg. In the UK, he has worked in the music departments at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, The Grange Festival, Shadwell Opera, and Opera Holland Park. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Alexander Soddy, Susanna Mälkki, David Parry, Paul Daniel, Richard Egarr, Finnegan Downie Dear, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, and Stephen Barlow.

In addition to his extensive knowledge of the standard operatic repertoire, Tom is sought after for his work in 20th-century opera. Recent engagements include Janáček’s The Makropulos Case, Britten’s Peter Grimes, Berg’s Wozzeck, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, and Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are. He is equally at home on the concert podium, having recently conducted works such as Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Ravel’s Mother Goose, Britten’s Les Illuminations, as well as various classical concertos. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the large-scale choral repertoire, and performances range from the Bach passions and Handel’s Messiah to Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Verdi’s Requiem, and an array of 20th-century works and several new commissions.

With long-standing ties to East Anglia, Tom is the Artistic Co-Director of the Southrepps Music Festival, an annual event he co-founded in 2010 to bring together leading artists from around the world to North Norfolk. He maintains ongoing relationships with the music department at the University of East Anglia, and with the Cambridge Philharmonic. Previously, he served as Assistant Organist and Director of the Girls’ Choir at Norwich Cathedral.

An award-winning piano accompanist, Tom has performed in many of the UK’s principal concert halls and festivals, appeared on BBC television and radio, and collaborated with leading singers and instrumentalists. He studied at the University of Oxford under Robert Saxton and at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Dussek and Malcolm Martineau.