City News

A man from the Midlands has won a rare opportunity to conduct the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra after beating off other bidders in the CBSO’s recent international charity eBay auction.

Peter Sinclair, from Willenhall in the West Midlands, will have his dreams realised on Wednesday 17 February when he will take to the podium of Symphony Hall, Birmingham to conduct the world-class players of the CBSO through a programme of his choosing.

Peter, a recently retired business man originally heralding from New Zealand, said, “If I could come back in another life I’d want to be a conductor, and so when I saw this opportunity I thought I have to take it while I still can!”

“The CBSO deserves all the financial support it can get to put on terrific concerts at Symphony Hall and continue its education work in schools, so I was more than happy to make the bid”, he continued.

For this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Peter has chosen to conduct all his personal favourites including Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance No. 4 and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.

“The pieces I’ve chosen are very personal to me – particularly Stars and Stripes since I used to work in the USA and still have a house in Florida.  To conduct them in Symphony Hall with the CBSO will be a thrilling experience, and one I’ll treasure forever.”

Peter will be putting all he learned in a master class with CBSO music director Andris Nelsons to the test on Wednesday 17 February, when he will conduct the full orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in a private performance for family and friends.

Peter Sinclair preparing for his conducting experience at his master class with Andris Nelsons / The CBSO in Symphony Hall, Birmingham - where Peter will take to the stage to conduct.