Photo: Robert Workman

Photo: Robert Workman

British conductor Timothy Henty maintains an international profile spanning symphonic, opera, ballet and live-to-picture repertoire.

His conducting engagements include collaborations with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, alongside regular engagements with leading UK ensembles including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, London Mozart Players and the Royal Northern Sinfonia. His recordings include sessions with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

International conducting engagements include: Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, Sinfonieorchester Basel, National Orchestra of Belgium, Stavanger Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Malmö Symphony, Sinfonia Lahti, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Münchner Symphoniker, WDR Funkhausorchester and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra.

In the theatre, he has opened productions for English National Opera and Nederlandse Reisopera and conducted for Opera North, whilst major ballet companies include The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet and Ballett Basel.

He is particularly associated with large-scale live-to-picture productions across major Hollywood, musical theatre, silent film, European and world cinema repertoire. An active arranger and producer, he has created films and documentaries on conducting practice today.

  • Timothy Henty is widely known for his performances of films ‘live-to-picture’‍, leading major productions worldwide.

    He has enjoyed a particularly close relationship with CineConcerts since 2017, for whom he has conducted the complete Harry Potter Film Concert SeriesGladiator in Concert, The Godfather: Live and Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage.

    Further credits include: Avatar, Baahubali: The Beginning, Titanic (Avex), Pirates of the Caribbean Concert Series, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, (Disney Concerts), Home Alone, Jaws, Singin’ in the Rain (IMG), Ghostbusters, The Snowman (Schirmer Theatrical), Os der lever (Musikkens Hus), Brief Encounter (Cork Film Festival) and Carl Davis’ score to Safety Last!

    In 2015, Timothy acted as rehearsal conductor for the world premiere of Titanic: Live in the presence of its late composer, James Horner. In 2023, he conducted the score to Baahubali: The Beginning in the presence of the film’s director, S. S. Rajamouli.

    Performances of games music includes RuneScape (Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra) and Little Orpheus (London Mozart Players).

  • Opera includes: Madama Butterfly (Nederlandse Reisopera), L’Elisir d’Amore (Dorset Opera Festival), La Traviata (King’s Theatre). Henty is well known for his interpretation of operetta and in particular, the Savoy Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. Productions include Iolanthe (English National Opera), The Pirates of Penzance directed by Mike Leigh (ENO/Théâtre du Caen/Grand Théâtre de la Ville du Luxembourg), Ruddigore (Opera North), HMS Pinafore (Carl Rosa Opera), The Mikado at the Royal Festival Hall, and numerous productions for the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton.

    In 2006, he conducted the first professional revival in many years of the 1899 musical Florodora at the Finborough Theatre, returning there to revive Lionel Monckton’s Our Miss Gibbs.

  • As an arranger and orchestrator, he has produced work for The Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Albert's Band at the Royal Albert Hall, The Elastic Band, Jubilee Opera and other clients. Timothy arranged, orchestrated, musically supervised and conducted Leonard Whiting's musical The Angel, choreographed by Wayne Sleep.

    “On numerous occasions I’ve asked Tim to arrange or compose themed pieces for my children’s concerts. His work contains the perfect ingredients for such events. They are attractive, original, funny, energised, difficult enough to keep the professional musicians on their toes and they always receive rapturous applause from both kids and parents. His works have been performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Elastic Band and Albert’s Band (outreach ensemble for the Royal Albert Hall) under my direction.

    Kevin Hathway: Philharmonia Orchestra Percussionist, Animateur, GSMD percussion professor and head of Brass, Percussion, Harp and Voice at the Purcell School.

    Jubilee’s Hip-Hip! Horatio was out of this world. The arrangement, for a small orchestra (virtually a mixed quintet), by conductor Timothy Henty, seemed to yield every sonority under the sun, with adept flute, piccolo and horn supplying much appropriate colouring. The ensemble was first-rate, but more than that: Henty’s lucid instrumentation revealed Hurd’s music as far cleverer than one imagined.

    Roderick Dunnett. Opera, 2013

    What is not fully realised is how brilliantly these cheerfully irreverent works translate to the stage, given (as here) a suitably precocious cast, plus captivating design and costumes. An intelligent orchestration...was supplied, with much flair, by Jubilee’s enabling conductor, Timothy Henty, who with just five players elicited subtle combinations worthy of a full orchestra.

    — Church Times, 2013

  • He began his career as a Guest Conductor of The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, before regularly conducting productions for Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Northern Ballet, Ballett Basel, Skånes Dansteater and Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.

    Highlights from his many productions include Coppélia for the Royal Ballet, Swan Lake for Dutch National Ballet, Sleeping Beauty for Scottish Ballet, The Nutcracker, The Rite of Spring, Les Noces for English National Ballet.

    He has conducted for choreography by Georges Balanchine, Hans van Manen, David Dawson, William Tuckett, David Nixon, Wayne Eagling and Richard Wherlock among many others.

    In the world of Modern Dance, Henty has collaborated with many choreographers including Jorma Uotinen and Ben Wright. Working with Ben Wright, Henty conducted the premiere and subsequent revival of the highly successful production The Feeling of Going by Skånes Dansteater in collaboration with Malmö Opera.

    He has enjoyed a close relationship with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures company throughout his career, for whom he has conducted Nutcracker!, The Car Man, Edward Scissorhands, The Red Shoes and the 30th Anniversary production of their iconic Swan Lake.

  • He conducted the original soundtracks to the films The Goodbye Plane and Little Ashes, and has recorded material for BBC Scotland with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

    His television appearances include The One ShowThe Andrew Marr Show (BBC) and Gilbert and Sullivan - A Motley Pair (SkyArts).

  • During the Lockdown of 2020, Timothy began an extensive online relationship with the London Mozart Players, presenting, directing, editing and producing several films and documentaries. These include The Grounded Conductor - a series exploring the practical craft of conducting - and a remote, locked down performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, which has had over 360,000 views on YouTube as of 2026.

  • He has conducted for soloists and opera singers including Leonardo Capalbo, Maxim Vengerov, Wayne Marshall, Shlomo Mintz, Joan Rodgers and Roderick Williams.

    Commercial artists he has conducted for include: Alfie Boe, Tony Hadley, Claire Martin, Gabrielle, Max Mutzke and, on his 2012 New Year’s Eve performance in Dublin, Michel Legrand.

  • In 2008, he collaborated with Anthony Baker to create a new performing version of Gilbert and Sullivan's lost opera Thespis, which received wide critical praise, and which has now enjoyed several productions internationally to date.

    Please see the dedicated Thespis page for more information.

He sat on the jury for the inaugural ESB Feis Ceoil/RTÉ Conducting Competition in Dublin, and subsequently. In 2017 he conducted the finals of the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. Passionate about education, he has taught, lectured and adjudicated in conservatoires and schools since 2003, and was an Examiner in Music for Trinity College London.

Born in Kent in 1982, Timothy Henty won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Neil Thomson and won the Tagore Gold Medal in 2005: the RCM's highest award for its most outstanding student, presented to him by the HRH Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales. He conducted at the 2005 Queen’s Music Day performance at Buckingham Palace.

  • Timothy is known for providing new editions of several items from the Savoy canon. In 2012, conductor John Wilson invited him to create a new performing edition of The Yeomen of the Guard. Timothy used the original manuscript, held at the Royal College of Music, as the principal source material. The score has been presented with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, and at the 2012 BBC Proms, conducted by Jane Glover.

    He has a reputation for transcribing music by commercial artists to be played by orchestra. His work includes music played by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and featured on BBC Radio 3, and music played at the funeral of Ozzy Osbourne.

  • Timothy originally studied timpani and percussion as a Foundation Scholar of the Royal College of Music with Kevin Hathway, Michael Skinner, Andrew Smith. Graduating with a First Class degree, he was the recipient of the Allianz Cornhill Senior Percussion Prize. Additionally, he studied piano with Nigel Clayton, Drum Kit with Ralph Salmins, jazz vibraphone with Anthony Kerr and composition for screen with Miguel Mera. After graduating, he spent some time as a freelance percussionist, working with ensembles including the John Wilson Orchestra.

    Timothy's work as an educator included a diverse peripatetic percussion and piano teaching practice in both state and private schools. In addition, he supported schools by devising his own curricular and extra curricular programmes, including 'drum circles' for primary children, percussion ensembles for secondary schools, GCSE Composition Workshops and A Level lectures on repertoire and analysis. He is particularly passionate about music in schools.

    For seven years, he sat on the board of examiners for Trinity College London, working across the world.