Conductor Michael Seal has established a reputation as one of the UK’s most versatile conductors, his career going from strength to strength, conducting orchestras in the UK and internationally.

In March 2011, he was appointed Associate Conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The appointment recognised his work as Assistant Conductor, the first in the CBSO’s history, and the special relationship he has built with the Orchestra.

Michael has conducted the CBSO in many prestigious concerts, appearing with them at the Aldeburgh and Malvern Festivals, as well as venues in London, Manchester and the Midlands. He has given World and UK premieres of music by Richard Causton, Jonathan Girling and Bent Sorensen with the CBSO. Michael appears annually in the CBSO main season at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and has also stood in at very late notice for Sakari Oramo, Richard Hickox, Ilan Volkov and Vasilly Sinaisky to much critical acclaim.

http://youtu.be/AiUlZEyFp4o

Michael’s vast repertoire list makes for a vivid demonstration of the myriad challenges faced by a “staff” conductor at a major orchestra. One must be able to dispatch industrial quantities of film music, educational arrangements, new works and pops pieces at the highest level, while bringing to core works like Sibelius 5 or Nielsen 2 the kind of gravitas expected by  orchestras that regularly work with the best in the business.

 

1.  Ades                                  Three Studies from Couperin
2. Anderson                          Buglers Holiday
3. Arnold                               Cornish Dances
4. Arnold                               Tam O’Shanter
5. Axt                                      The Smugglers
6. Barber                                Adagio for Strings
7. Bartok                                Transylvanian Dance No.3
8. Beethoven                         Egmont Overture
9. Beethoven                         Piano Concerto No.4
10. Berio                                   Folk Songs
11. Berio                                   Rendering for Orchestra
12. Brahms                              Tragic Overture
13. Bridge                                 The Sea
14. Britten                                 War Requiem
15. Bruch                                   Violin Concerto
16. Butterworth                        2 English Idylls
17. Chopin                                Piano Concerto. No.2
18. Copland                              Fanfare for the common man
19. Debussy (orch. Matthews) La Danse de Puck
20. Doyle                                  Thor – suite
21. Dukas                                The Sorcerors Apprentice
22. Dvorak                               Silent Woods
23. Dvorak                               Symphony No.8
24. Dvorak                               The Water Goblin
25. Elgar                                   Cello Concerto
26. Elgar                                   Symphony No. 2
27. Farnon                               Sounds Familiar
28. Fenton                                Shadowlands
29. Finck                                   Dramatic Love Scene
30. Fitkin                                  Metal
31. Gershwin                           Rhapsody in Blue
32. Ginastera                           La Estancia Dances
33. Goldenthal                        Titus – suite
34. Goodwin                            633 Squadron
35. Grieg                                   Peer Gynt Suite No.1
36. Heffes                                 The Rite (Finale)
37. Hermann                           Psycho
38. Honegger                          Pacific 231
39. Hopkins                             1947 Suite
40. Hopkins                             Amerika
41. Hopkins                             And the waltz goes on
42. Hopkins                              Evesham Fair
43. Hopkins                              Margam
44. Hopkins                              Orpheus
45. Hopkins                              Stella
46. Hughes                                The Phamtom Fairground
47. Irwin                                    Cottage Love
48. Janacek                               Taras Bulba
49. Korngold                             Schauspiel Overture
50. Ligeti                                    Concerto Romanesc
51. Liszt                                     Piano Concerto No.2
52. Luz                                        Dramatic Set No.7
53. Malloy                                  Alasdair’s Magic Moments
54. Martell                                 The Great Ice Floe
55. Mascagni                            Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
56. Mendelssohn                     Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture
57. Mozart                                 Marriage of Figaro Overture
58. Nielsen                                Symphony No.2
59. Nielsen                                Violin Concerto
60. Orff                                       Carmina Burana
61. Parry                                    Jerusalem
62. Patterson                            Little Red Riding Hood
63. Ponchielli                          The Dance of the Hours
64. Rachmaninov                   Piano Concerto No.3
65. Rachmaninov                   Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
66. Rachmaninov                   Vocalise
67. Rameau                              Dances from ‘Les Boreades’
68. Respighi                             The Pines of Rome
69. Rimelis                               The Cool Ghoul
70. Robbins                             Remains of the Day
71. Rodney-Bennet
72. Saint-Saens                       Danse Macabre
73. Savino                                  Conspiracy
74. Shchedrin                          Carmen
75. Shcherdin                          Humoreske (arr. Seal)
76. Shore                                   Silence of the Lambs
77. Shostakovich                    Festive Overture
78. Sibelius                               Finlandia
79. Sibelius                               Symphony No.2
80. Sibelius                               Symphony No.5
81. Sibelius                               The Oceanides
82. Smyth                                  March of the Women
83. Sorensen                           Exit Music
84. Sousa                                   Liberty Bell
85. Steck                                    The Skeleton in the Cupboard
86. Strauss                               Metamorphosen
87. Strauss                               Till Eulenspiegel
88. Strauss                               Wind Serenade Op.7
89. Stravinsky                         Octet
90. Stravinsky                         Pulcinella (Complete Ballet)
91. Tchaikovsky                    Capriccio Italien
92. Tchaikovsky                    Piano Concerto No.1
93. Tchaikovsky                    Symphony No.5
94. V.Williams                     The Lark Ascending
95. Wagner                           The Ride of the Valkyries
96. Weatherfield                  Strands
97. Weber                              Overture and Marches from Turandot
98. Williams, C                    Devils Galop
99. Willims                           Close Encounters of the Third Kind
100. Williams                        ET: Adventures on Earth
101. Williams                        Hymn to the fallen
102. Williams                        Jaws (Main Title)
103. Williams                        JFK Theme
104. Williams                        Jurassic Park ‘The Lost World’
105. Williams                        Munich: A Prayer for Peace
106. Williams                        Raiders March
107. Williams                       Schindlers List (Main Title)
108. Williams                       Star Wars (Main Title or Suite)
109. Williams                       Superman March

 

 

 

 

Additionally, Michael has conducted the following short excerpts and songs:

 

 

 

Gounod – ‘Je veux vivre’ from Romeo & Juliet ( Susanna Hurrell )

 

Mozart – ‘Il mio Tesoro’ from Don Giovanni ( Tyler Clarke )

 

Puccini – ‘O soave fanciulla’ from La Boheme

 

Schubert/Berlioz – Der Erlkonig

 

Handel – Hallelujah Chorus

 

Goodwin – Peanut Vendor

 

Rogers – ‘You’ll never walk alone’

 

Copland – ‘I Bought me a Cat’

 

Arr. Green – Octonauts Theme

 

Britten – ‘Moto Perpetuo’ from Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge

 

Arr. Green – Tommy Zoom Theme

 

Elgar – ‘Nimrod’ from Enigma Variations

 

Mancini – Pink Panther

 

Barry – Goldfinger

 

Barry – Diamonds are forever

 

Puccini – Doretta’s song from ‘La Rondine’ (Soprano – Maureen Brathwaite)

 

Prokofiev – Wedding and Troika from ‘Lte Kije Suite’

 

Tchaikovsky – Waltz from ‘Swan Lake’

 

Puccini – El lucevan el stelle from ‘Tosca’ (Tenor – Joseph Guyton)

 

Puccini – ‘O soave fanciulla’ from La Boheme

 

Mussorgsky – The Great Gate of Kiev from ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’

 

Strauss – Also Sprach Zarathrustra (opening)

 

Parker jnr – Ghostbusters

 

Beethoven – Symphony No.7 (Movt 2)

 

Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2 (Movt 2) (Ben Dawson)

 

Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake (Final Scene)

 

Mahler – Symphony No.5 – Adagietto

 

Rossini – Ov. William Tell (Galop)

 

Saint Saens – Symphony No.3 (Finale)

 

Mussorgsky – ‘The Old Castle’ & ‘Baba Yaga’ from Pictures at an Exhibition

 

Stravinsky – ‘Lullaby’ and ‘Finale’ from The Firebird

 

Lehar – ‘Vilja’ from The Merry Widow

 

Puccini – ‘O mio babbino Caro’ from Gianni Schicchi

 

Korngold – Mariettas Lied from Die Tote Stadt

 

Gounod – ‘Je veux vivre’ from Romeo & Juliet (Soprano – Helen Withers)