Jess Hoskins is a conductor from London, building a varied career with a strong interest in contemporary music and opera. Last summer made their debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, conducting Jonathan Harvey’s Tranquil Abiding following a four-day masterclass with Martyn Brabbins. Their recent highlights include assisting Ben Glassberg on Der Fliegender Holländer at Opéra de Rouen, as well as concerts with Waterperry Opera and a UK tour with Street Orchestra Live.
In October 2024 Jess worked as assistant conductor for the London Symphony Orchestra’s collaboration with Nonclassical at the Hackney Empire, a concert featuring works by thirteen living composers conducted by Darren Bloom. They assisted Alpesh Chauhan and Paolo Bortolameolli on the National Youth Orchestra’s Spring 2025 tour, and worked as assistant to Olivia Clarke and chorus master on Royal Academy Opera’s acclaimed production of Die Zauberflöte.
Jess’ music directing experience in the theatre includes Philip Venables’ Denis and Katya, Maxwell Davies’ Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot and two premieres at Tête-à-Tête opera. They have given premieres of works by over a dozen composers and have consistently foregrounded contemporary music in their orchestral programming. Jess looks forward to upcoming concerts with the New London Chamber Choir and Forest Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as education projects with the New Mozart Orchestra.
Jess graduated with distinction from the master’s course in orchestral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music, where they studied with Sian Edwards. Jess won the Academy’s Commendation for Excellence, the top prize at graduation, as well as the exam board prize for conducting. While studying, Jess took part in masterclasses with Jac van Steen, Ed Gardner, and Mark Stringer, and worked alongside Sir Mark Elder, John Wilson, Susanna Mälkki and Trevor Pinnock. They also studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Antony Hermus as part of the Elton John Global Exchange programme.
Jess holds a first-class degree in music from the university of Cambridge, and they also work as a freelance singer, double bassist, arranger and composer. Jess is the founder of The Orchestral Dance Music Experiment, a new project combining electronic dance music with live instrumentals, and they look forward to developing this project in club spaces in London later in the year.
