Christopher Pelly studied trumpet and voice at the University of Leeds and has studied conducting with George Hurst and Martin Pickard among many others. He is the artistic director of the Leeds Haydn Players, the musical director of Otley Chamber Orchestra and has also conducted West Yorkshire and Leeds Symphony Orchestras.

He has conducted symphonic repertoire by composers including Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner and others.

With Northern Opera Group Christopher has conducted productions of Alfred (Thomas Arne), Cendrillon (Pauline Viardot) and Much Ado About Nothing (Stanford). He has conducted Haydn’s Missa in tempore Belli (Paukenmesse) and Theresienmesse with the Leeds Haydn Players and the Clothworkers Consort of Leeds and in March 2019 he conducted Philip Wilby’s completion of Mozart’s Mass in C minor at the University of Leeds School of Music. Christopher has also conducted productions of Made in Dagenham and Hello Dolly at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford.

Christopher plays the trumpet, tuba, percussion and keyboards in orchestras and musicals. He is an experienced pianist, having accompanied recitals, rehearsals and masterclasses at the University of Leeds and elsewhere, including performances of Poulenc’s opera La Voix Humaine with Opera North soprano Lorna James and director Emma Black. Christopher has been the Concert Series Administrator at the University of Leeds since 2015 and recently became a visiting lecturer in the School of Music, where he offers vocal and conducting coaching and conducts ensemble performance projects.