Chris Hopkins is a conductor and pianist who works on a wide range of projects
He is a frequent face at English National Opera and has conducted more than sixty shows at the London Coliseum, including the Olivier Award-nominated production of HMS Pinafore, La boheme, The Magic Flute, The Mikado, and more
Chris recently made his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Grange Park opera (including conducting a new five star production of Werther at Grange Park Opera with Tony Award-winning director John Doyle).
Chris is principal conductor of English Sinfonia and has worked with Opera de Paris, the Royal Opera House and Glyndebourne Opera, on record with English Chamber Orchestra, and other projects with Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Crash Ensemble, London Mozart Players, Birdgang Ltd, Opera Holland Park, Welsh National Opera, NI Opera. He has appeared at festivals including Aldeburgh, Presteigne, Cubitt Sessions, New Paths, and Latitude. His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 2, 3 and 4, BBC 1, 2 and 4, Scala and Classic FM.
A long-term advocate for British music, Chris was the first postgraduate from the Centre for the History of Music in Britain, the Empire and the Commonwealth (CHOMBEC) before continuing his studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Leverhulme and Elton John scholarships. He has premiered works by composers including Colin Matthews, Ruth Gipps, Nicholas Korth, David Matthews, Rob Keeley, Thomas Hyde, Detlev Glanert, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Gilad Hochman, and the Pet Shop Boys. He is also Musical Director of Orchestra of the City.
As a pianist, Chris has played for audiences around the world, working with orchestras in a range of concertos, including Brahms, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Beethoven (complete) Shostakovich and Gershwin. He is also a writer for Pretty Decent Music.
Chris was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2013.