TOM HILLARY
Founder & Conductor
MARCO BELLASI
Choir Master
AARON BREEZE
Assistant, Repetiteur, Composer/Arranger
NATE CHIVERS
Composer/Arranger
Artistic
Tom Hillary - Artistic Director
Tom Hillary is a distinguished English conductor who has made a name for himself within the video game and film with orchestra world. Described by Crash Bandicoot composer Josh Mancell as a “skilled and nuanced maestro,” Hillary has a huge and varied repertoire. Renowned for his conducting of video game scores and his championing of rarely-heard compositions, he is equally at home with concert, symphonic, operatic, wind and brass band repertoire; and has given numerous world premières. His conducting of video game scores is celebrated and he is known for strong collaborations with great composers and directors.
Hillary has conducted performances in major concert halls, opera houses, and diverse venues worldwide. Notable locations include Birmingham Symphony Hall, Eventim (Hammersmith) Apollo in London, Dubai Opera House, Halifax Minster, The Coro, and the Al-Rawan viewpoint in Saudi Arabia. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Manchester Video Game Orchestra (UK), appears as conductor with Senbla Events and is principal conductor of The Country Orchestra (UK). His guest conducting engagements have included appearances with The Arabian Philharmonic Orchestra (UAE) and The Paradox Orchestra.
Hillary’s dedication lies in the seamless integration of various performance elements. He believes singing, the embodiment of physical expression are all supported expressively by the orchestra. He views the visual aspects and production concepts as integral to any performance, creating a cohesive and interdependent experience. For him, these components are inseparable, each enhancing and relying on the others to achieve a unified artistic expression. He is a fervent champion of breaking down the many inaccessibility barriers surrounding the orchestral world for those who may feel segregated from it.
Hillary has given numerous world premières and his most recent career highlights include touring London-based production company Senbla Events’ special screening of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas, accompanied by a live orchestra; marking the first performance of this kind in the UK. Among his numerous international successes feature appearing with the Arabian Philharmonic at the Dubai Opera House in a concert starring Andrea Bocelli promoting his 2021 album, Believe. Performing at the EXPO 2020 festival in Dubai to celebrate the music of renowned Emirati composer Ihab Darwish, and conducting the orchestra at the oasis town of Khaybar, Saudi Arabia, in the 1500-piece drone show spectacular Tales of the Volcano featuring as part of the Alula Ancient Kingdoms Festival. This drone show later received the award “Best Drone Show Combined With Performing Arts & Historical Significance.”
As a percussionist, Hillary has performed with prominent ensembles both in the UK and internationally. These include the Hallé Orchestra, the Black Dyke Band, and the Brighouse and Rastrick Band. His performances have graced prestigious venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, KKL Lucerne, Glastonbury Pyramid Stage, and Stoller Hall.
Throughout his career, he has collaborated with notable figures in the entertainment industry, including Alexandra Burke, Andrea Bocelli, Barry Gibb, Christian Lindberg, Colin Currie, Grant Kirkhope, Jade Helliwell, Jeremy McComb, Josh Mancell, Jeff van Dyck, Maggie Baugh, Nile Rodgers, Keiko Abe and Zoe Lyons. Hillary's extensive experience and versatile talent have firmly established him as a respected figure in the world of music. His contributions continue to enrich the musical landscape, earning him acclaim and admiration from peers and audiences alike.
Hillary is an alumnus of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), earning both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees there, and specialising in orchestral percussion, timpani and world percussion. During his six years at the RNCM he studied under the baton of inspirational champion of operatic, concert and symphonic repertoire, David Parry.
Marco Bellasi - Choir Master
Prize winning conductor, dual citizen of Italy and Australia, Marco has recently finished his appointment as Junior-Fellow conductor at the Royal Northern College of Music.
In addition to the RNCM orchestra, he has worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Hallé Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini and the Ensemble 10/10. He has worked also with many amateur orchestras and choirs.
His repertoire includes symphonic, choral, opera and contemporary music. He met critical success in the RNCM for his performance of Sibelius’ Symphony No 2, Prokoviev's Violin Concerto No 1 and Ravel’s 'La Valse'. He also conducted Stravinsky’s’ Feu d’artifice’ in the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and Steve Reich’s’ Eight lines’ in the presence of the composer. He worked with Sir Mark Elder CBE and has assisted him at various times with the Hallé Orchestra.
He was an active participant in the 2017 'Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy' where he worked with Riccardo Muti on Verdi's Aida and performed within a public concert in Ravenna. He participated to Orkney’s conducting course with Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was selected for the Järvi Academy summer Academy 2012 where he worked with Neeme Järvi, Parvo Järvi and Leonid Grin: there he was awarded the prize from Pärnu City orchestra as the Orchestra’s favourite.
He studied also with Christopher Seaman, Luke Dollman, Juanjo Mena, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Maurizio Dones, Jac Van Steen, Mark Shanahan, Clark Rundell, Mark Heron and Daniele Agiman.
He prepared the RNCM Chamber Choir for Krzysztof Penderecki in a U.K. premier performance of his Seventh Symphony. He is also a trained lyrical singer and worked also as a soloist. He studied violin with Italian soloist Cristiano Rossi and played in many orchestras. He studied composition with Luca Francesconi, Fabio Vacchi, Irlando Danieli and Paolo Rimoldi.
Aaron Breeze - Assistant, Repetiteur, Composer/Arranger
Aaron Breeze (1994-) is a British composer, pianist, accompanist, and arranger based in Manchester. He attended the Junior RNCM where he studied composition, piano and jazz piano. Aaron has recently completed his undergraduate at the RNCM, studying composition with Larry Goves, and piano with Benjamin Powell. He now holds a scholarship to study postgraduate composition at the RNCM to study with David Horne and Larry Goves, with support from The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, and he is also one of the Radcliffe Trust scholars at RNCM. Composition awards include the Peter Redfearn Memorial Prize for Composition, the Grindon / Dearden Prize for Composition, and Aaron was also a finalist in both the 2016 and 2017 RNCM Gold Medal award. He has also received masterclasses from Anders Hillborg, Brian Ferneyhough, and Michael Finnissy, amongst others. Aaron has appeared in several panel discussions, including a pre-concert talk at the Bridgewater Hall discussing the music and life of Leonard Bernstein, and a panel interviewing Sir Harrison Birtwsitle as part of New Music North West 2016.
The performance of contemporary repertoire for piano has long been one of the focal points for Aaron’s work. He has appeared on BBC Radio 3 as a pianist as part of the contemporary concert series ddmmyy, and as a composer and pianist in BBC’s Young Artist Day. Additionally, Aaron is one of the few performers in the world to perform one of the later works by Mortan Feldman, Crippled Symmetry in the 2016 New Music North West Festival. In 2017, Aaron also had the pleasure of working with New Order in the Manchester International Festival’s ‘∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif)’, in which he was a part of the synth orchestra. In 2018, he subsequently went on tour with the band in Italy and Austria.
Nate Chivers - Composer/Arranger/Guitarist
Nate Chivers is a Guitarist and Composer from Western Massachusetts. Growing up playing in various local rock bands and pit orchestras, he eventually attending the Berklee College of Music where he received his BMus in Composition studying under Pangiotis Liaropoulos. He also has an MMus in composition from the Royal Northern College of Music as well, studying under Gary Carpenter, David Horne, and. He has had pieces performed in the UK, USA, France, and China, by the likes of Psappha, BBC Singers, Kinetic, Music Theatre Wales, and various others. His music has been featured on BBC Radio 3.
As a guitarist he has studied with guitarist Yaron Deutsch at the Darmstadt Summer Course. He has also studied under Amanda Monaco, Jon Damian, and Kimberly Perlak. He mainly works with contemporary classical music but is always up for any type of genre. Currently, he plays his own solo compositions where he combines his training in classical composition and his background in Rock and Jazz.
Now he is a PhD student at the Royal Northern College of Music supervised by Mauricio Pauly, David Horne, and Rodrigo Costanzo.