After completing BA and MA degrees in Music at the University of York, Jonathan’s development as a conductor was significantly encouraged and influenced by the opportunity to work, over a period of several years, as a musical assistant to Sir Charles Mackerras, on a wide range of concert, opera and recording projects.

Early achievements included his appointment as Assistant Conductor with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic (Zlín, Czech Republic), and invitations to guest-conduct the Janáček Philharmonic and Košice State Philharmonic orchestras. He has since worked with a wide range of ensembles including the Martinů Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic, Olomouc and Kroměříž chamber orchestras (Czech Republic); Košice State Philharmonic (Slovak Republic); Hong Kong Sinfonietta; Sinfonia Viva; contemporary music groups Gemini, One Voice, and Mephisto Ensemble, and the early music ensemble Florilegium.  Opera productions have included Don Pasquale; Die Fledermaus; La Bohème; Carmen; Madama Butterfly; Cavelleria Rusticana; I Pagliacci; Le nozze di Figaro; Don Giovanni and L’Incoronazione di Poppea, at major UK festivals including Brighton, Cheltenham, King’s Lynn and Holland Park.

Highlights have included appearances with the Croatian Radio Symphony Orchestra (on the concert platform and in the recording studio) and the Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb (Tchaikovsky Nutcracker); Symphony Hall, Birmingham (with the Birmingham Philharmonic); London’s Barbican Hall and the Bromsgrove Festival with the English Chamber Orchestra; Handel’s Xerxes (British Youth Opera) at the Queen Elizabeth Hall; critically acclaimed performances of Bach’s St Matthew Passion and St John Passion in France with Florilegium; Walton’s Façade at the Albert Hall, Nottingham with Lady Susanna Walton and musicians from Sinfonia Viva; appearances with the contemporary music ensemble One Voice in Edinburgh; and performances of Machaut’s Messe de Nostre Dame and Tarik O’Regan’s Scattered Rhymes with the Orlando Consort.

As Head of Orchestral Studies at London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Jonathan works regularly with the Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles, and has devised and conducted several series of ‘side-by-side’ performances in conjunction with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, Welsh National Opera and the BBC orchestras.

Jonathan Tilbrook conducted a gripping performance in front of a full house.  The orchestra’s playing […] showed what an asset it has in its conductor
Nottingham Evening Post – Janacek Glagolitic Mass/Dvorak Symphony No.5

…the orchestra responded keenly to Jonathan Tilbrook’s gentle beat
Rick Jones – Evening Standard – English Chamber Orchestra, Barbican Hall

Jonathan Tilbrook conducted with an unaffected brio
David Blewitt – The Stage – Die Fledermaus – European Chamber Opera, Hackney Empire

…an enchanting romp […] it shows musical perfection […] an evening of superb music and fun.
Ronald Kay – Gloucestershire Echo – Die Fledermaus –  Cheltenham Festival