Mikel Toms

Born in 1968, the British conductor Mikel Toms has been Director of Recordings of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic since 2005. He was Artistic Director of the acclaimed contemporary music chamber orchestra Reservoir from 1993 to 2000. He has performed and recorded with international symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras and ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Oslo Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern and the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra.Mikel studied Music at Oxford University and subsequently with Peter Eötvös as a member of the International Eötvös Institute Foundation in Germany and the Netherlands. As a student, he was President of the first Oxford Contemporary Music Festival, conducting a complete performance of Messiaen’s Des Canyons Aux Étoiles at the age of 20. Mikel attended the Darmstadt Internationales Ferienkurse from 1996 to 2000, twice being awarded a Patenring Scholarship and also winning the Stipendium Prize for performance. In 1996, he was selected to conduct the Ensemble Modern in a performance of Stockhausen’s Mixtur, in collaboration with the composer.With Reservoir, Mikel has performed, recorded and broadcast a wide range of contemporary repertoire. He has released two CDs of contemporary Irish music on the Black Box label and Mikel has also recorded discs of music by Richard Emsley and Michael Finnissy on the Metier label with the ensemble Topologies and of concertos by Schnittke, Langer and Mozetich on Quartz.His world premiere recording of Philip Glass’s Saxophone Concerto (with Amy Dickson and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) is due for release by Sony BMG in Spring 2009. The disc also includes The Protecting Veil by John Tavener and Where the Bee Dances by Michael Nyman.He has conducted several broadcasts for BBC Radio 3’s Hear and Now programme, has broadcast on Italian, German, Spanish and Irish radio, and has appeared at festivals in London, Lincoln, Bath, Huddersfield, Belfast, Darmstadt, Innsbruck, Sligo, Almaty, Valencia, Dortmund and Berlin.Mikel was a recipient of the 1994-95 Arts Council of England Artists’ Research and Development Award. In 1996, Mikel’s work with Reservoir earned them the highest possible Performing Rights Society Enterprise Award.From 2004 to 2007 Mikel was Creative Director of the Classical Brit Award winning label Quartz and of BPO Live, the official label of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra.In 2005, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (FRSA).