CALLUM ROOKES
"You gotta play like it's the last thing you'll ever do"

THE CONDUCTOR.
"Waving the conductor's baton is a little like being in Harry Potter; except with music, the magic is very real" - Callum

Callum Rookes is a British-born-European conductor whose journey
into the dark art of conducting has been an unconventional one.
Picking up the baton at the cock-sure age of fifteen, it soon
became clear that he had a natural affinity for conducting, and he
always excelled in his conducting exams at Trinity College of Music.
He soon started picking up directorship of many bands and
orchestras. Whilst studying in Denmark he became the MD of the
Vejle FDF brass band whilst having a fruitful life as a freelance
conductor. Simultaneously, he was invited to conduct and coach the
Cambridge Youth Wind Orchestra in the UK.
In 2014, on his return to London, Callum became the Musical Director of the Thame Concert Band where he reenergised, rebuilt, and transformed the band, successfully growing the band from an enthusiastic twelve, to a band of thirty-five. He also built their audience base from a modest few, to a hall of hundreds. Callum continues to push the TCB, and is proud to lead them for their annual "A Last Night At The Proms" Concert.
Shortly afterwards, Callum became the Musical Director of the Sound Force Big Band in Buckinghamshire, which he held until January 2018 when he went on to become the principal conductor of the London People's Orchestra, the Enfield Film Orchestra, and the The Highgate and Muswell Hill Brass Band; positions he held until late 2019 when Callum decided to audition, and consequently win the audition to be the Musical Director of the Aylesbury Concert Band, following in the footsteps of it's previous esteemed conductors such has Claire Lawrence (former Band Master, Coldstream Guards Band), Duncan Stubbs (former Principal Director of Music, RAF Music Services), and Rob Wiffin (former Principal Director of Music, RAF Music Services).
Callum is now in high demand as a conductor, and has been at the helm of high calibre ensembles across the UK such as the Birmingham Symphonic Winds, Imperial College Wind Band, City of London Symphonic Winds, London Gay Symphonic Winds, The Bloomsbury Wind Ensemble, and Brent Symphony Orchestra, and the Brass Foundry. He has also been fortunate to conduct the Band of the Coldstream Guards, and Musicians from The Central Band of the Royal Air Force.
Callum gives masterclasses to other ensembles in the UK seeking fresh ideas for their playing. Recently, Callum was invited as a guest conductor to the Woodwind Orchestra Play day, London, 2020, alongside James Rae, and Paul Harris, where he led a total of one-hundred and seventeen musicians.
In need of a conductor? A Musical Director? or maybe you're looking to dip your toe into the mystical art of conducting? Why not get in touch? Callum will try his hardest to accommodate your needs.
Callum is available internationally.
Orchestral
Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
Leoš Janáček - Sinfonietta
Malcolm Arnold - Fantasy on Christmas Carols
Aaron Copland - Rodeo Suite
Aaron Copland - Appalachian Spring Orchestral Suite
Beethoven- Symphony Numbers 5 and 6
Mahler - Symphony Number 1, "Titan"
Mahler - Symphony Number 2, "Resurrection"
Stravinsky - Firebird Suite
Sibelius - Symphony Number 2, and 3
Bruch - Violin Concerto Number 1
R.Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
R. Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on Christmas Carols
W.Walton - Crown Imperial
W.Walton - Spitfire Prelude and Fugue
Wind Band
Sir Henry Wood - Fantasia on British Sea Songs
Elgar - Pomp and Circumstance March 1
Elgar - "Nimrod", Variation IX from the Enigma Variations
Holst - First Suite for Military Band in Eb Major Op.28 - 1
Holst - Second Suite in F Major Op.28 - 2
Holst - A Moorside Suite
R.Vaughan Williams - English Folk Song Suite
R.Vaughan Williams - Sea Songs
R.Vaughan Williams - Flourish for Wind Band
Percy Grainger - Lincolnshire Posy
Percy Grainger - Molly on the Shore
Martin Ellerby - Clarinet Concerto
Martin Ellerby - Dona Nobis Pacem
Philip Sparke - Symphonic Metamorphosis
Philip Sparke - The Earl of Oxford's March
Philip Sparke - Year of the Dragon
Philip Sparke - Hymn of the Highlands Suite
Philip Sparke - Madrigalum
Philip Sparke - To a New Dawn
Philip Sparke - A Yorkshire Overture
Philip Sparke - Tuba Concerto
Nigel Hess - Thames Journey
Nigel Hess - East Coast Pictures
Nigel Hess - Stephenson's Rocket
Nigel Hess - Shakespeare Pictures
Nigel Hess - Lochnagar Suite
Nigel Hess - Ladies in Lavender
Nigel Hess - A Christmas Overture
Guy Woolfenden - Gallimaufry
Guy Woolfenden - S.P.Q.R
Guy Woolfenden - Illyrian Dances
Rossano Galante - Resplendent Glory
Rossano Galante - Afterlife
Eric Whitacre - Lux Aurumque
Eric Whitacre - October
Jean Sibelius - "Intermezzo" from the Karelia Suite

REPERTOIRE.
Photo: Olivia Wild Digital