City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Hires New Assistant Conductors 

Rita Castro Blanco and Charlotte Corderoy will conduct the English orchestra in a range of performances across its 2023/24 season

Having joined the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) this month as assistant conductors, Rita Castro Blanco and Charlotte Corderoy will be involved in the ensemble’s international tours, world premiere performances, and more. 

The two new additions were appointed after an extensive and collaborative process involving CBSO’s musicians, chief conductor Kazuki Yamada, and management from a highly competitive field of applicants.

In their roles, they will also benefit from meetings and workshops with CBSO musicians, management, and stakeholders, plus have the opportunity to attend all rehearsals and concerts.

A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Blanco previously served as principal conductor of Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also worked with the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, and the Lucerne Contemporary Festival Orchestra. 

A Royal Academy of Music (RAM) and University of Oxford graduate, Corderoy has debuted with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the City of London Sinfonia, and is currently musical director of the RAM’s Junior Musical Theatre Department. This season, she will perform at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and with the Swedish Radio Choir.

“I am so thrilled that Rita and Charlotte will be joining our CBSO family and — like me — will have the incredible experience of learning and growing with the phenomenal musicians of this orchestra,” said Yamada, CBSO’s chief conductor and artistic advisor. “From the audition process I can already see the passion, skill and joy they will bring to their roles as Assistant Conductors and I am really looking forward to working with them over the next 12 months.”

“Each [of them] brings valuable experience and fresh perspectives to the music the orchestra is proud to make in Birmingham, across the West Midlands and beyond,” CBSO added in the press release. 

Previous CBSO assistant conductors have included Michael Seal, Alpesh Chauhan, Jonathan Bloxham, Jaume Santonja Espinós, Bertie Baigent, and Olivia Clarke.