A talented young conductor from North Wales who rejected a teacher’s advice to become a dentist is making his West End debut with singing star Lucy Thomas.
Robert Guy, 36, who was recently appointed as the new principal conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, will conduct a 30-piece London orchestra at Lucy’s concert on October 22 at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London.
Singer Lucy Thomas was catapulted to global fame after appearing on the ITV show, The Voice Kids UK, at the age of 14 in 2018, finishing as a semi-finalist.
The 20-year-old has since released five highly acclaimed studio albums and boasts a rapidly rising worldwide following with close to one million subscribers on YouTube and more than 1.5 billion views of videos featuring her recordings.
Robert, who overcame childhood deafness to forge a successful career in music as a conductor, educator and entrepreneur, said the opportunity to conduct at her concert had arrived as a ‘bolt out the blue’ and would see him fulfil one of his lifelong dreams – much earlier than he expected.
The dad-of-two was handpicked for the concert by composer and music producer Chris Broom who is managing director of Cavendish Records and co-produced and composed several songs for Lucy Thomas’s first three albums ‘Premiere’, ‘Encore’ and ‘Timeless’.
But the opportunity might never have happened if he’d listened to the career advice of a teacher who said there was no money in music and that he should train to be a dentist instead.
Robert, who hails from Wrexham and now lives in Stockport, said: “It came out of nowhere! It’s the first time I’ll be heading to the West End and it’s really exciting – surreal, in fact.
“Chris was looking for the right person to work in the West End, someone who’d worked with orchestras and would be at ease with the experience. I’m pleased to say that my name had been recommended by someone at a local recording studio.
“It’s a pretty big deal for me. You kind of say you want these things to happen but when they do it’s completely surreal. A lot of people look from the outside in and think that if you have talent, you get lucky breaks but that’s only 10 per cent of the story. Ninety percent is hard work, and people don’t always see that.
“You spend a lot of hard work behind the scenes making sure you’re prepared for any opportunities that come along. I feel completely ready for this and I’m confident I’m the right person for this. It’s really exciting when you’re given an opportunity to perform on a huge stage with an incredible artist and be part of someone else’s journey too.”
The concert will feature special guest West End star Will Callan and iconic songs from musicals such as Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Evita and Cats. In the second half, Lucy will showcase a selection of songs from the forthcoming musical Rosie, which has been written by Chris.
Accompaniment will be provided by pianist James Breckon while the orchestra will be made up of London-based session musicians.
Chris said: “Lucy’s management team were looking for a Manchester-based conductor to conduct Lucy’s concert.”
“Lucy is Manchester-based herself and as Lucy has never performed with an orchestra before, we felt it was important to reach out to a conductor who could logistically easily work with Lucy in the lead up to the concert as well as conduct the concert itself.
“Lucy regularly records at Voltalab Studio in Rochdale and Jamie Allsop, the studio engineer, highly recommended Robert, having worked with him at the studio previously.
“We were extremely impressed with Roberts’s work and, in particular, his expertise in guiding young, less experienced performers at the beginning of their careers. We greatly look forward to working with Robert on this exciting project.”
The opportunity comes on the back of a series of career successes for Robert, who received the prestigious Hilary Tann Award for his outstanding contribution to Welsh classical music when royal composer Paul Mealor described him as one of the UK’s “finest young conductors”
Robert is continuing his roles as Director of Conducting and Director of Orchestras at The University of Manchester alongside his new responsibilities with the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
He’s also the co-founder with his composer brother Jonathan of NEW Sinfonia, the resident orchestra at the North Wales International Music Festival in St Asaph which also has close links with Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
NEW Sinfonia also runs a community vocal ensemble NEW Voices, and an education programme, NEW Academi.
“It feels really good to be building on the momentum of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra role,” said Robert, who was scouted for the youth orchestra role by his musical hero, Sir Simon Rattle, Honorary Patron and former player/conductor with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.
“I sense a kind of momentum going on with my career. When I was approached by Chris two weeks ago, my reaction was that this is great but also surprising as I’m not from London, I’m from Wrexham and Lucy’s from Wigan. It’s a very exciting opportunity for both of us.
“Just 10 years ago, I felt like I was always battling to prove myself. Growing up, I had been told by a teacher there was no money in music and that I should become a dentist. I did work experience for a day in a dentist practice and I knew I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t do music as a hobby, it’s my life.
“I absolutely love what I do, I’m very lucky to say that and never feel like what I do is a job. On a personal level, it’s nice to be proven right and that I am doing the right thing. Hopefully, it inspires other young people who grow up in Wigan and Wrexham that nothing should hold them back.”
Robert was taught to play the piano by his grandmother at the age of three despite not being able to hear a note. At the grand age of 94, she proudly collects his press clippings.
He played the viola with National Youth Orchestra of Wales and then professionally with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of Opera North while studying at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and he’s now keen to give back and catapult the careers of the next generation of music stars.
“My parents are both teachers and were very supportive. We weren’t poor but my family’s roots are in the mining community where you work hard, work hard, work hard.
“I didn’t think at the start of the year that by September, the Liverpool role would’ve happened and then closely followed by a trip to the West End.
“When the event came up, I was already meant to be hosting a children’s music day with NEW Sinfonia and Conwy Music Service introducing primary and secondary school children to music. Luckily, they were very amiable and arranged it for later in the week. This work is just as important to me.”
Robert will meet Lucy in September when rehearsals begin.
