Surrey's leading professional chamber orchestra
President - His Serene Highness Dr Donatus, Prince of Hohenzollern
Matthew Taylor
Conductor Composer
Matthew was born in 1964 and won a Music Scholarship to Queens’ College Cambridge in 1983 were he studied with Robin Holloway and conducted the University Orchestras. He later studied with Leonard Bernstein and received tuition from George Hurst and Vilem Tausky. He also received special encouragement from Robert Simpson whose music and outlook became a crucial influence in these earlier years. The success of Matthew’s 1st Symphony (1985) which was performed several times by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Bournemouth Sinfonietta led to a a continual stream of commissions and performances in the UK and abroad.
Matthew currently conducts and composes music for Farnham Sinfonia. He is a lecturer at Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey.
Sasha Parker - Associate Conductor
Sasha is a violinist studying at the Royal College of Music under Lutsia and Alina Ibragimova, having previously studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School under Natasha Boyarsky and Diana Galvydyte. Sasha has won prizes at the IIona Féher International Violin Competition in Budapest as well as the Sevenoaks young Musician of the Year Competition and has appeared as a soloist with a variety of orchestras including Anima Musicae and the Farnham Sinfonia. Recent solo performances have included those at the House of Lords and King’s Place, as well as at venues in Berlin, Budapest and in Italy. As a conductor, Sasha has studied under Matthew Taylor, Howard Williams and Toby Purser, having first appeared as a guest conductor with the Farnham Sinfonia in 2024.