Staff
Tim Crooks - Assistant Director and Conductor
Tim's musical education began at the age of five, and continued at the the Royal College of Music Junior department, where he studied violin with Esta Boda-Katona and piano with Thalia Myers. Before higher education he spent a year in South East Asia, working at an orphanage in Malaysia for six months then taking a post as a boarding tutor and violin teacher at Jerudong International School in Brunei.
Tim graduated from Manchester University in 2003 with a 1st class honours degree in Music. At university he studied violin, piano and conducting; in his final year he lead the University Symphony orchestra and conducted the Chamber and String orchestras. Also in his final year, Tim was awarded both Hargreaves and Proctor Gregg prizes for musicology and performing.
In 2005 Tim completed violin studies with Thomas Kemp at the the Royal Northern College of Music , graduating with an MPhil in performance. At the RNCM he won the Hirsch string quartet prize with the Baker Quartet, and the quartet appeared as featured young artists at last year's Lake District Music Festival, studying with the Chilingirian and Skampa quartets.
Tim was appointed musical director of the Training Orchestra in January 2004 and has appeared recently as guest conductor of Cheshire Youth Orchestra and the University of Manchester Sinfonietta. In January 2005 Tim conducted the first concert by the Bridge Ensemble, a semi-professional group based in the North West, with whom he continues to work. As a freelance violinist Tim works with the Manchester Camerata , and at Covent Garden with Opera-Theatre Europe .