Fantasia Orchestra has a reputation for pioneering cross-genre programming and collaborations with musical stars. Founded by conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh, the orchestra is home to some of the best of young British classical music talent today.

In the 2025-26 season, Fantasia performs a wide range of music from Alma Mahler and Shostakovich to Joni Mitchell and Benny Goodman, and is joined by Lucy Crowe (soprano), Jess Gillam (saxophone), Jasdeep Singh Degun (sitar), Steven Osborne (piano), Aaron Akugbo (trumpet), and Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo-soprano).

The orchestra made its BBC Proms debut in 2024, performing two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall with broadcasts on BBC television and radio. Repertoire ranged from Bartók, Brahms and Dvořák to Laura Mvula, Piazzolla and Chic, and long-time friends and collaborators Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Braimah Kanneh-Mason (violin) and Plínio Fernandes (guitar) shared the stage as soloists.

Other recent projects have featured Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussion), Ben Goldscheider (horn), Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Jennifer Pike (violin), and Toby Spence (tenor), at festivals including Ryedale Festival, Newbury Spring Festival, Deal Music and Arts Festival, and Proms at St Jude’s.

Broadening the reach and accessibility of music is central to Fantasia’s mission, and the orchestra enjoys a partnership with the music education charity DaCapo Music Foundation. As DaCapo’s orchestra-in-residence, Fantasia works closely with students from across London and beyond on a range of initiatives, including a new resource for the primary classroom, DaCapo Online.

Tom Fetherstonhaugh is Artistic Director of Fantasia Orchestra, with whom he made his BBC Proms debut in August 2024 conducting two performances at the Royal Albert Hall.

In the 2025/26 season, Tom returns to the BBC Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Manchester Camerata, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and Ulster Orchestra, and makes his debut with the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera. Recent engagements include Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of Opera North, a joint concert with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra, and a concert for peace in the Korean Demilitarised Zone.

As the Assistant Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra between 2022-2024, Tom conducted 70 performances including five weeks in the BSO’s main season series.

He has performed with soloists including Alena Baeva, Alim Beisembayev, Julian Bliss, Jess Gillam, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Thomas Gould, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Vadym Kholodenko, Tasmin Little, Jennifer Pike, Laura van der Heijden, Steven Osborne, and Maria Włoszczowska.

In the operatic repertoire, Tom has been assistant conductor for Wagner’s Der Fliegender Holländer (Opera North), Verdi’s Macbeth and David Matthews’ Anna (The Grange Festival), and worked on productions of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut (The Grange Festival).

Tom started his musical journey with the Suzuki method of violin playing, and was a chorister of Westminster Abbey. He trained with conductor Roland Melia, of Ilya Musin’s school. Tom read music at Merton College, Oxford, and studied conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music. He graduated from the Academy with Distinction and a DipRAM prize in 2021, and was given Associate Honours (ARAM) in 2024 for his contribution to the music profession.