An Interview with Anthony Inglis by Oliver Barder (...continued)
(page 2 of 4)

OB: Where did you study Music?
AI: I got a music scholarship to Marlborough College and then went onto the Royal College of Music, however I always knew I wanted to be a conductor even from the age of six. The first time I ever conducted was at my pre-prepschool. It was for a concert in which I had to conduct a choir and a percussion section entirely made up of six year olds, we also had our teacher on the piano. The piece was two in  a bar and they delegated me as the conductor, and I remember that halfway through that it was the first time I made an audience laugh because on the upbeat the baton flew out of my hand and into the audience. So ever since then I always wanted to be a
conductor.

OB: What was your first conducting job?
AI: I landed a job as a pianist and assistant conductor on a tour of "Rose Marie" with John Hanson. I ended touring for six months and conducting three times a week, from that I got given more shows in the West End. To which I conducted the likes of "My Fair Lady", "Oliver", "Irene" and the "Two Ronnies", I actually went on tour to Australia with the "Two Ronnies". So I learnt the business of conducting that way, through actually doing it and conducting jaded and hardbitten West End musicians. I am also supervisor at "Phantom of the Opera".

OB: How did you get into classical conducting?
AI: I made a conscious decision to stop doing shows, I had conducted in the London Palladium with the "Two Ronnies", I mean, how much better than that can you get? I was getting a bit bored and jaded towards the West End anyway. So I put myself out of work and turned down (West End) jobs, and then put myself on the market to conduct classical based music. Which turned out to be a bit of a disaster because no-one had heard of me.

Luckily I was quite popular with business trade shows and events. In that they hired me to conduct bands and small orchestra music. On the third or fourth year of doing a trade show for Allied Dunbar the leader of the orchestra mentioned that Allied Dunbar were sponsors for the Philharmonia. So I went to Allied Dunbar and asked them whether their sales people should hear what the put all their money into? They said yes, so I ended up conducting the Philharmonia at the trade show. From that point on the Philharmonia liked me and gave me more work. I ended up getting more and more work until I ended up only doing classical music.

OB: ...what about your animé score conducting then?
AI: Well, I consider that to be classical music!

OB: Why is that?
AI: Well, it is recorded and performed as concert music. Meaning that I don't have a click track or a screen to synchronise the music to.

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