Emma Kent
Conductor
Biography
Freelance conductor with 16 years experience working with amateur and professional orchestras.
Rehearsal Style
Emma’s rehearsal style is dynamic, fast-paced and most importantly fun. She has high standards and is rigorous in her quest for musical expression and precision, which is complemented by her humour and quick wit, which musicians of all ages respond to well. Her charisma and enthusiasm are infectious and she is happy to work with groups looking to improve their engagement, competency and energy levels.
Biography
Emma has 16 years experience as a conductor and artistic director of amateur and semi-professional orchestras. A graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal College of Music, she initially moved to the South West of England where she took up the post of Director of Music at West Buckland School and founded the North Devon Sinfonia alongside her husband Dan Kent.
During their sixteen-year tenure the orchestra forged collaborations with the prestigious Two Moors Festival, performed concertos with world-class soloists (Tasmin Little, Craig Ogden, Piers Lane), commissioned and performed new works and, in 2016, won the BBC’s Great Orchestra Challenge.
Emma has conducted in venues across Devon and the South West, the Royal Albert Hall, Proms in the Park 2016 (to an audience of 35000+) and represented the UK in September 2017 at the International Community Orchestra Festival in Seoul, South Korea.
In September 2020, during a global pandemic, Emma and family relocated to Woodbridge, Suffolk, to start the next musical adventure in the East.
Good to know
Emma is an experienced orchestral conductor having trained at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Andrew Mogrelia. She has extensive experience of working with amateur orchestras and youth groups. She has also been MD for a number of musicals, directed youth choirs and adult choruses alike.
She enjoys being an artistic director and thrives on the creativity of working on a project in a collaborative manner with other musical enthusiasts.
References are available upon request.
‘Bravo, North Devon Sinfonia, and their indomitable conductor Emma Kent!’
Paul Daniel - Conductor
'I love Emma's conducting style. She's full of passion and enthusiasm; you cannot leave a rehearsal without a smile on your face.'
Rebecca Sadler-Smith - Musician