Jonathan Lo

Hong-Kong born British conductor Jonathan Lo is Music Director of Northern Ballet, Staff Conductor for the Royal Ballet and was a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Opera House. He made his debut with The Royal Ballet as conductor of New Work New Music, and his main house debut with Within the Golden Hour and Flight Pattern. In autumn 2020, he was the conductor for the historic Royal Ballet: Back on Stage and the subsequent Royal Ballet: Live programmes. He was assistant conductor on Two Pigeons/Asphodel Meadows, The Cunning Little Vixen (Royal Ballet School), Romeo and Juliet, Onegin and Mayerling (on tour in Los Angeles). He is a regular guest conductor for Birmingham Royal Ballet, with a repertoire ranging from Hobson’s Choice to Giselle to world premieres on their Ballet Now programme. Elsewhere, he has been guest conductor for Rambert Dance, Dutch National Ballet (The Nutcracker) and Scottish Ballet (Highland Fling & Cinderella). 

Lo studied music at Oxford University and conducting at the RNCM on a major scholarship. He was appointed to his first music directorship after winning the Oxford University conducting competition aged 18. He has since conducted orchestras internationally and nationally, notably the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia and Gabrieli Consort. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the New Bristol Sinfonia and the Haffner Orchestra, and was Music Director of the Manchester Chamber Choir, where he served regularly as chorus master for the BBC Philharmonic both in concert at Bridgewater Hall, and the BBC Proms and in the recording studio. 

He was Senior Lecturer in Conducting at the Leeds College of Music and was a staff member of the music department at King’s College, London, where he was music director of the symphony orchestra and mentored young conductors.