Kenneth Woods

Conductor Kenneth Woods is often active in Britain and serves as the principal conductor and artistic director of the English Symphony Orchestra. He is also a cellist who has recorded with his own string trio, an educator, a composer, and a popular blogger. In 2009, Woods was named principal guest conductor of the Orchestra of the Swan, and with that group and the Northern Sinfonia, he made the first complete recordings of the symphonies of Hans Gál. He co-founded the Ensemble Epomeo string trio and, with that group, recorded trios by Gál and Hans Krása. In 2013, Woods was named the principal conductor and artistic director of the English Symphony Orchestra; he remained in that position as of the early 2020s. He released an album of works by Philip Sawyers, a composer he has championed, in 2023. By that time, Woods' recording catalog comprised some 30 items.