REBECCA MILLER – our principal conductor

California-born conductor Rebecca Miller has earned international acclaim for her compelling, insightful, and energetic presence on the podium and for her ability to communicate with audiences of all ages. She spreads her work between professional, amateur and youth orchestras and choirs, and is passionate  about music’s relevance to our society, artistic citizenship, and championing unduly-neglected female composers. She is currently Director of Orchestras at Royal Holloway University, Principal Conductor of the Royal Orchestral Society, Principal Conductor of the Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia, Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Trinity Orchestra, and a regular guest conductor with the Bath Philharmonic Orchestra. She recently served as Chief Conductor of the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden from 2019-2023. Her guest conducting includes the Munich Symphony Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Gävle  Symphony, Västerås Symphony, Dala Sinfonietta, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia, and National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. First prize winner in the Eduardo Mata International Conducting Competition, she has conducted throughout Mexico, including repeated engagements with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional, Orquesta Filarmonica del UNAM, and the state orchestras of Yucatan, Aguascalientes, and Sinaloa.

Rebecca’s discography includes CDs with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (CPE Bach Symphonies / Signum Records, which made the final shortlist for a 2014 Gramophone Award), with the BBC Concert Orchestra (Henry Hadley Orchestral works / Dutton Epoch), and with the BBC Scottish Symphony (piano concertos by Amy Beach, Dorothy Howell, Cecil Chaminade / Hyperion Records), and three CDs with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (Haydn Symphonies / Signum Records. Her most recent recording is of the orchestral music of Dorothy Howell with the BBC Concert Orchestra for Signum. Until now these works have rarely been performed, and most are unpublished and only exist in manuscript form. Featuring four works in their world premiere recording, Rebecca aims to help revive Dorothy’s music and give her the recognition she deserves. 

Rebecca is passionate about her work with young musicians – she works regularly with the National Children’s Orchestra and has also guest-conducted the Texas Music Festival Orchestra, LSO DiscoveryNational Youth Orchestras of Scotland, Wales, and Great Britain, and the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. She was conductor at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior Department for many years, where she formed the groundbreaking JA Classical Orchestra, and previously served as Associate Conductor of the Southbank Sinfonia in London.

As Director of Orchestras at Royal Holloway University of London, she has been widely acclaimed for building the orchestral programme to new heights – starting an orchestral scholarship programme, initiating a side-by-side programme with the London Mozart Players, securing high-profile engagements (including ‘Magna Carta 800 at Runnymede’ a project with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Temple Church Choir, performed in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II and 4000 dignitaries and honoured guests), and establishing a new initiative called ‘Music +’, which aims to build bridges through music with interdepartmental projects and interdisciplinary research.

Previously, Rebecca served as Resident Conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and American Conducting Fellow of The Houston Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
She holds a B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, an M.Mus in Orchestral Conducting from Northwestern University, and for two years was the Paul Woodhouse Junior Fellow in Orchestral Conducting at London’s Royal College of Music.