Toby Thatcher is Assistant Conductor to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, a position he’s held since early 2015. In the same year, Toby was a finalist and prizewinner at the Georg Solti International Conducting Competition with the HRSinfonie-orchester and Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester, and Neeme Jarvi Prize winner at the 2015 Menuhin Festival. He is the founder and director of London-based orchestra Ensemble Eroica, as well as a founding member of contemporary music group Ensemble x.y. Toby has worked with orchestras internationally including Sydney Symphony Orchestra, HR-Sinfonieorchester, Ensemble Modern, Frankfurter Opern und Museumsorchester, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the Menuhin Festival Orchestra. In 2016/2017 he will be making his concert debut with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonieorchester Basel.

In 2014 Toby Thatcher graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with an MA in Music Performance where he studied oboe with Christopher Cowie (London Philharmonia and Academy of St Martin in the Fields Principal Oboe) and Jill Crowther (London Philharmonia Principal Cor Anglais). In his final year of studies, Toby performed with the London Philharmonia, and London Sinfonietta, as well as being offered a trial with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the position of Principal Cor Anglais. In July 2013 Toby was a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s European tour, performing in venues such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Berlin Konzerthaus.

Toby is the 2016 recipient of the University of Sydney’s Outstanding Achievements of Young Alumni Award, and current holder of the Brian Stacey Award for Young Australian Conductors.