Conductors

Brian Weir  Michael Eveleigh  Emlyn Watkins  Neville John  Kasimerz Hardulak  Frank Salter  Guest Conductors

2001 - present Brian Weir

Brian was born in Belfast in 1975, started playing the organ and piano at the tender age of 8 and took up the French Horn at the age of 14 to complement his GCSE in Music. He entered the Welsh College of Music and Drama in 1994 as a Horn player, graduating in 1997 with a BA before taking a two year Advanced Diploma in Conducting and then going on to be the Sabbatical President of the Students' Union at the College. This led some of his peers to comment that they thought he would never leave - he has still not proved them wrong and currently is employed at the College as Head of Student Services. Brian has lived in Cardiff since 1994.

Brian started conducting during his A Levels, performing with local groups from Northampton (by then his home) in festivals locally and nationally, including the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Royal Northern College of Music as well as on two separate tours to Germany. During his student years at the Welsh College he conducted all the main ensembles, including the Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra and Wind Orchestra as well as acting as Assistant Musical Director for College Opera and Musical Theatre Productions. During this time he also founded Appalachian, a chamber group which performs programmes based around one desk and one-per-part orchestration. He has also conducted the Malcolm Sargent Cancer Care South Wales Choir, Whitchurch Male Voice Choir and the South Wales District Methodist Orchestra. Brian took over as Musical Director of Abergavenny Orchestral Society in January 2001.