Born of Irish & Sri Lankan parentage and raised in South London, I trained to be a musician at Durham University, Royal Academy of Music London and finished in the class of Ilya Musin at the St Petersburg Conservatory.

While my roots are in firmly in opera, throughout my career I have been unashamedly active in all the main musical and theatrical genres.  This has brought about longstanding and fruitful associations with a very broad spectrum of ensembles, arts companies and education institutions in the UK and abroad.  

In opera, both mainstream and contemporary, I have worked on many theatre-based, creative projects across the UK and Europe.  This has brought me into close association with some of the greatest living composers; most notably George Benjamin and Judith Weir.  Performing their operas and concert music has been a joyful focus of my work for a good number of years now.  

In 2021 I was appointed music director of English Touring Opera.  ETO’s mission is to take the broadest repertoire of opera to a diverse audience across the entire county.  We take opera to places where it might otherwise not be found and present it in an affordable, accessible and exciting way.  I am grateful to have this opportunity to share the joy of the repertoire and the art form with new audiences.

Alongside my work in opera, I have conducted some of the world’s great ballet and dance companies.  Most recently as a guest with San Francisco and Hong Kong Ballets.  Among the many highlights of my five-year tenure as Principal Guest Conductor with English National Ballet, are Pina Bausch’s Sacre du printemps and Akram Khan’s Giselle & Creature.

In the UK I have appeared as guest conductor with English National Opera, Royal Opera House Linbury, The Opera Group, Tête à tête, Welsh National Opera, the Hallé, London Philharmonic, London Sinfonietta and Birmingham Music Group, and while abroad with the Bolshoi in Moscow, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Opera Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Festival d’Automne Paris, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and MusikFabrik Cologne.

I was for eight years the head of music and associate conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.  Elsewhere in education I have been a visiting musician at Trinity Laban, RAM and RCM conservatories in London and also at Goldsmiths and Cambridge universities.