About us

About the Easter Orchestral Society

The Easter Orchestral Society (EOS) was founded in 1977 to continue an annual orchestral week originally established in the early 1950s at Attingham Park, Shropshire.

Since its inception, our flagship Easter Orchestra Week has taken place each spring. Previously hosted at York St John University (when known as the York Orchestral Course Society), the orchestra week is now held at Ellesmere College in Shropshire, near the market town of Ellesmere.

Musical leadership

  • Musical director: Michael Thorne
  • Assistant musical director: Lewis Gaston
  • Brass musical director: Shaun Matthew

Click here for Shaun’s full biography.

Governance and policies

EOS bank details

Sort code:
20-59-61
Account no:
30038261
Payment reference:
Please give your name as the reference so we can trace your payment.

Musical direction/conductors

Michael Thorne

Musical director, Easter Orchestra Week

Michael Thorne’s musical journey began as a bassoonist. He spent the 1980s conducting the Cardiff Chamber Orchestra and the City of Cardiff Symphony Orchestra, as well as playing in the Spinosus Wind Quintet. In the 1990s he conducted the New Tyneside Orchestra and the Tynedale Symphony Orchestra.

He is musical director of the Easter Orchestral Society’s residential course (which he has conducted since 1992) where he explores the modern symphonic repertoire including in the last few years music by Rautavaara, Lutosławski, Messiaen, Thomas Adès, Robert Simpson, Shchedrin, Panufnik, Vasks, Daugherty, Aho, and Sallinen.

As conductor and co-founder of the Edinburgh Players Opera Group, since 2001 he has completed three complete cycles of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde (twice), Parsifal (twice), and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, followed by Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Tannhäuser, Elektra, Salome, and Daphne, and will conduct Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair there later this year. He is also the musical director of the Newtown Ensemble in Edinburgh.

For New Palace Opera he has conducted Ariadne auf Naxos, The Turn of the Screw, The Rape of Lucretia, Albert Herring, The Rake’s Progress, Billy Budd, Peter Grimes, Bluebeard’s Castle, and Katya Kabanova. For the Saffron Opera Group he has conducted Die Meistersinger (twice), The Rake’s Progress, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, Così fan tutte, Tannhäuser, Don Giovanni, Der Rosenkavalier, Le nozze di Figaro, and Der fliegende Holländer—to be followed by Dialogues des Carmélites in September 2026.

‘Totally at one with the dramatic spirit and architecture’ – Seen and Heard International; ‘sure-footed conducting … meticulous preparation’ ★★★★ – The Guardian.

Lewis Gaston

Assistant musical director, Easter Orchestra Week

Lewis Gaston works as a conductor and assistant in the UK and abroad. His work has been recognised in international competitions and masterclasses, and he enjoys a schedule that combines performance, education, and research.

He has appeared as guest conductor for the Brașov Philharmonic (Romania), Toscana Classica Orchestra (Italy), Berlin Sinfonietta, Camerata di Fiorentina (Italy), and the State Opera Rousse (Bulgaria). Lewis is music director of Kingston Philharmonia and Guildford Opera, and acts as guest conductor to a number of London orchestras and opera companies.

Lewis specialises in opera conducting with a repertory of around 50 operas, including contemporary works. He made his debut at Opera Holland Park in August 2026 conducting Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins and Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti.

As a lecturer and conductor for Opera Prelude, Lewis gave the UK premiere of Mercadante's opera Don Chisciotte alle nozze di Gamaccio. His lectures have included Verdi's Monarchs, The Operas of Bizet, and a series entitled ‘After Bel Canto’, which puts a rare focus on the German operas produced during the Italian ‘Verismo’ movement. Most recently, he has been working on a series of lecture-performances exploring the soprano Nancy Storace and the architect Sir John Soane.

Shaun Matthew

Musical director, EOS Brass

A musician who strives for all members of the public to find something in all forms of classical music; tuba player, conductor, and animateur, Shaun Matthew was awarded the Mortimer Furber Prize for conducting contemporary music and has worked with some of the UK’s finest orchestras, including the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Chineke! Orchestra.

He has been musical director of the Scarborough Symphony Orchestra since 2005, where he has championed and premiered William Grant Still’s 1st and 2nd Symphonies and works by Andrzej Panufnik, whilst working with some of the world’s most prominent concerto musicians, such as Jamie Walton, Ian Bousfield, Richard Harwood, Ian Belton (Brodsky Quartet), and Jess Gillam. Upcoming collaborations include Ben Goldscheider, performing Jiří Pauer’s Horn Concerto, and Michael Petrov performing Shostakovich’s 1st Cello Concerto.

His versatility and superlative passion for musical excellence also extends to his education and arts advocacy work. He has staged multimedia events incorporating live painting and orchestral performance, whilst also curating classical music outreach concerts for school-aged children across Yorkshire. He is currently professor of tuba at the University of York.

EOS Committee

EOS Committee

EOS is run by a Committee of volunteers, all of whom play with EOS.

Committee members are elected at the AGM held during each Easter Orchestra Week.

The Committee welcomes suggestions on all matters related to the orchestra and the programmes it runs.

EOS Committee Members

  • Quentin Maxwell-Jackson, Chair
  • Calum Kennedy, Secretary
  • Jenny Davies, Assistant Secretary
  • John Best, Treasurer
  • Philip Austin, Librarian
  • Daniel Regan, Assistant Librarian
  • Greg Place, Brass Weekend Coordinator
  • Susannah Rang, Venue Coordinator