"Leo is fast making a name for himself as one of the great young British conductors to watch".
James Murphy, CEO, Royal Philharmonic Society
About
Leo Geyer is a young composer and conductor with a passion for imaginative, daring and dramatic approaches to music-making, encompassing new work, cross-disciplinary collaborations and reimaginings of existing music. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Constella OperaBallet and Music Director for the Devon Philharmonic Orchestra and works as a guest artist internationally. Leo is also the Senior Music Scholar at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford studying for a doctorate in opera-ballet composition under the supervision of Prof. Robert Saxton.
Aged 19, Leo founded an orchestra which has now grown to become Constella OperaBallet – the world’s only company dedicated to the fusion of opera and ballet. Leo has brought together internationally renowned artists in over 75 critically acclaimed performances across the UK, including radio and television broadcasts. Constella’s most recent project at the Chelsea Flower Show engaged over 1 million people and received national coverage. The company recently launched Connecting Stars which brings life-changing, one-to-one virtual performances for care home residents, providing support for vulnerable people and paid opportunities for performers in these trying times.
Leo has received various accolades for composition, having most recently been awarded the Lord Mayor’s Composition Prize. He has received particular acclaim for his stage works, including his opera The Mermaid of Zennor, described by The Times as “imaginative and beautifully shaped”. Leo has fulfilled major commissions, which include works for the European Capital of Culture, Tate St. Ives, Opera North, Rambert Dance Company and BBC Singers. Leo is also establishing a reputation for his "reimaginings," which creatively engage with music of the past to extend its significance for today's audiences. Most notably this has included the addition of a chorus to Elgar's Enigma Variations to provide a possible solution to the "enigma puzzle".
Leo began his conducting career at the Royal Opera House as a Cover Conductor for The Royal Ballet. Leo now enjoys a busy and diverse portfolio in opera, ballet, theatre and concert music. As well as his current conducting positions, Leo works as a guest conductor collaborating with the English Chamber Orchestra, National Theatre, Ensemble 212 (USA), AUT (Denmark), and the Southbank Sinfonia. He has been described by James Murphy, CEO of the Royal Philharmonic Society as “one of the great young British conductors to watch”.
Leo currently teaches performance and composition at Oxford University. At Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance's Junior Department, Leo conducts the wind orchestra and co-directors the composers' ensemble and teaches composition, academics and musicianship.
London-born, Leo studied at Manchester University and the Royal Northern College of Music on the Joint Course, graduating with two first class degrees and The Soroptimists International of Manchester Award for Composers/Conductors. As part of his studies, Leo also attended the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts to study conducting with Uroš Lajovic.
For shortened biography and photos, please click here.
Press
Constella OperaBallet
For reviews and interviews with Leo, Constella's Founder and Artistic Director, please click here.
"Pure opera - the holy grail"
WhatsOnStage
"Leo sets out to explore new music but make it accessible to a wide audience."
Suzy Klein, BBC Radio 3
"Geyer’s skill at dissolving elevated speech into aria, duet and trio set up the ebb and flow of musical tides."
The Times
Spirit of Cornwall
Awarded Silver-Gilt Medal
For broadcasts and interviews about Leo's music at the Chelsea Flower Show
please click here.
"just divine"
Joanna Lumley, BBC 2
"a unique creative collaboration"
The Telegraph
Sideshows
For reviews and interviews about Leo's award-winning opera-ballet Sideshows, please click here.
"Geyer's 'Sideshows' is anarchic fairground fun, with an intricate score bristling with darting and sinuous lines."
The Opera Magazine
"An utter delight"
British Theatre
"Excellent musical mayhem"
The Daily Express
Interviews include:
- Classic FM
- BBC Radio 3 In Tune
- Classical Music Magazine
Music
Click links below for further information, recordings and sheet music purchasing.
Dramatic
opera-ballet scene
Mozart's
reimagined opera
Purcell's
reimagined opera
Struass's
reimagined opera
chamber opera
piano, objects & dance
opera-ballet scene
chamber opera-ballet
incidental music
chamber opera-ballet
cross-art collaboration
dance & reed trio
opera-ballet film
Large Ensemble
symphony orchestra
Saint-Saën's
reimagined for
symphony orchestra
Elgar's
reimagined for
symphony orchestra & chorus
Mozart's
reimagined for
chamber orchestra
(version also for wind orch.)
chamber orchestra
self-isolating orchestra & chorus
wind orchestra
violin & strings
trumpet & orchestra
symphony orchestra & chorus
wind orchestra
Small Ensemble
small ensemble
self-isolating small ensemble
small ensemble
guzheng & ensemble
open ensemble
small ensemble
small ensemble
flute choir
Chamber
violin & piano
2 bassoons & piano
flute, violin & cello
flute quartet
wind quintet
harp trio
clarinet & string trio
clarinet quartet
bassoon quartet
clarinet, cello & piano
wind quintet
trumpet, piano & optional perc.
bassoon & piano
Schubert's
reimagined wind quintet
bassoon & harp
(also version for tenor sax)
Vocal
baritone, ensemble & electronics
open-score a cappella choir
mezzo-soprano & piano
4-part a cappella choir
mezzo-soprano & ensemble
female vocal trio
mezzo-soprano & ensemble
4-part a cappella choir
8-part a cappella choir
Solo
bassoon
piano
violin
piano
cimbalom
piano
organ
violin
bassoon & electronics
oboe
double bass and loop pedal
Diary
12th Oct 2019
17th Jan 2020
12th - 15th
Feb 2020
2nd Nov 2019
Devon Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor - Geyer
Shostakovitch - Symphony No. 5
Exeter Cathedral
17th Nov 2019
19th Nov 2019
Caroline Balding & Dominic Saunders
Henfrey Prize
Geyer - Celestial Images
St. Catherine's College, Oxford
27th - 28th
Nov 2019
Oxford Contemporary Opera Society
Music Director - Geyer
New Operas
Jacqueline du Pré Music Building, Oxford
7th Dec 2019
Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra
Conductor - Leo Geyer
Family Concert with Zeb Soanes
Holy Trinity Church, SW London
21st Feb 2020
Junior Trinity Laban Dance Collaboration
Co-Director - Geyer
Research & Development Showcase
Tate Modern
22nd Feb 2020
English Chamber Orchestra
Conductor - Leo Geyer
Geyer - Premiere of ECO commissioned violin concerto
New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth
7th Mar 2020
Devon Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor - Leo Geyer
New Works as part of CoMA Festival including Geyer premiere
Royal Albert Memorial Museum
11th Mar 2020
29th May 2020
11th July 2020
5th Aug 2020
Devon Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor - Leo Geyer
Geyer - O Brave New World
Virtual Premiere
22nd Sep 2020
Leo Geyer
Geyer - Contemporary Opera-Ballet: The Revival of the Forgotten Form
5th Cambridge AHRC DTP International Conference 2020
Theme: Form and Forgetting
7th Oct 2020
Devon Philharmonic Orchestra
Leo Geyer gives virtual Composition workshop
Hosted by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum
21st Oct 2020
Devon Philharmonic Orchestra
Leo Geyer gives virtual Composition workshop
Hosted by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum
8th - 31st Dec 2020
Constella OperaBallet
Christmas Gala conducted by Geyer
Programme includes Nutcracker, Sideshows and Handel's Messiah.
16th Dec 2020
2019 - 2020 Season
Shop
With support from Arts Council England, Leo Geyer has published his entire composition catalogue. Following a launch concert at Kings