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LPO Conducting Fellowship
Launched in 2023, our flagship LPO Conducting Fellowship seeks to support the development of the world-class conductors of the future, through offering an intensive opportunity to work closely with the Orchestra over a period of 6-8 (non-consecutive) weeks each season, to up to two outstanding early-career conductors from backgrounds currently under-represented in conductors of professional, world-class orchestras.
We believe that talent is indiscriminate, yet people from certain backgrounds and communities continue to be under-represented in the orchestral sector. The LPO Conducting Fellowship aims to promote diversity and inclusivity in classical music as a whole, to lead eventually to a sector that is more reflective of the wider population. We invite applications from conductors from historically under-represented communities in terms of gender identity, race, socio-economic backgrounds, neurodiversity, Disability or other under-represented group. Providing artistic and professional development experiences at the highest level of excellence to early-career conductors from under-represented backgrounds is an important goal of the programme.
We are delighted to work with our Fellow Conductors for the 2026/27 season: Enyi Okpara and Shira Samuels-Shragg.
What’s included in the Fellowship?
Guided by the LPO’s Principal Conductor, Edward Gardner, Fellow Conductors become fully immersed in the life of the Orchestra, getting to know players, artists and staff, developing skills and knowledge, and broadening their professional network. The LPO prides itself as being a welcoming and supportive orchestra and sets out to ensure Fellow Conductors become embedded in the LPO community. They are invited to attend rehearsals and concerts conducted by the Principal Conductor and other conductors, and are also offered conducting opportunities with the LPO and its Rising Talent ensembles.
The LPO Conducting Fellowship includes:
- Opportunities to conduct the Orchestra in regional and offsite performances, in educational programmes, and ensembles of its Rising Talent programmes
- Assisting opportunities and mentorship sessions with Edward Gardner
- Full immersion into the life of the Orchestra during the period of the Fellowship, with the aim of forming the basis of a longer-term professional relationship
In addition, and considering the individual needs of Fellow Conductors, the Fellowship may also include:
- Assisting opportunities and 1-1 sessions with other LPO titled and guest conductors
- Feedback from LPO musicians
- Meetings with the LPO’s Resident and featured composers
- Professional development opportunities through sessions with LPO personnel, visiting artists and access to the LPO’s wide network of industry professionals
- Opportunities to participate in wider LPO promotional activity such as pre-concert talks and social media activity
- Additional tailored support around navigating the barriers specific to the Fellow Conductors
Fees will be paid at the LPO prevailing rates for early-career conductors.
Who can apply?
The LPO is committed to advancing equality and inclusive practice in all areas: recruitment, artistic programme, and working environment. The Conducting Fellowship is open to applicants from backgrounds currently under-represented in conductors of professional, world-class orchestras. We are not presenting a fixed set of criteria, and instead ask applicants to self-identify their eligibility in this area. Eligible criteria may include, but are not limited to, under-represented gender, racial, ethnic or socio-economic backgrounds, and may also include neurodiversity and Disability.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate extensive background and training in orchestral conducting, and be able to demonstrate ability in developing and conducting programmes, excellent musicianship and communication skills.
Applicants must be over 18 and not in full-time undergraduate education. UK-based conductors are strongly encouraged to apply and will be prioritised.
When and how to apply
Applications for 2027/28 are now open. Read the ‘information for applicants’ below before applying. When you are ready to apply, click ‘Apply Now‘ on this page to be taken to the online application form.
Read the information for applicants before you apply
LPO Fellow Conductors 2026/27: Enyi Okpara and Shira Samuels-Shragg
Meet our 2026/27 Fellow Conductors
London-born Enyi is praised for his dynamic musicianship, infectious energy and engaging presence. From 2024–26 he was the Calleva Assistant Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. In recognition of his growing reputation, he was named one of the UK’s ’30 Incredible Musicians Under 30′ on Classic FM’s Rising Stars list. Recent and upcoming engagements include the Orchestre national Avignon-Provence, Ulster Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Chineke! Orchestra and Royal Northern Sinfonia. A strong advocate for outreach work and widening opportunities, Enyi will also join the London Symphony Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for side-by-side concerts.
Enyi’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of musicians is reflected in his appointment as Conductor-in-Residence with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra in 2023/24. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Elysium Music, a charity that creates collaborative projects between young professional musicians and children.
Growing up in Camden, North London, Enyi’s musical journey started initially as a percussionist and saxophonist and member of the Camden Music Hub. He studied conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music, where he held the Derek Butler Award. He graduated in 2024 with Distinction, alongside which, he was awarded a DipRAM prize for outstanding final recital, won the Conducting Prize for highest final recital mark, and won HRH Princess Alice, The Duchess of Gloucester Prize for exemplary studentship and performance. Enyi recently appeared on BBC Radio 3’s This Classical Life presented by Jess Gillam, and the podcast Things People Do, hosted by Joe Marler and Tom Fordyce.
American conductor Shira is dedicated to creating vibrant, welcoming orchestral experiences for musicians and audiences alike. Shira is Assistant Conductor at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where her subscription debut was praised for bringing ‘shape, purpose, and fastidious detailing of dynamic contrasts and nuances’ to the podium (Dallas Morning News).
In the 2026/27 season, as well as with the LPO, Shira makes debuts with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Haydn Orchestra and Tulsa Symphony.
A 2026 recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Shira was a semi-finalist in the 2026 Mahler Competition, and in 2025, she was awarded the prestigious Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival. Other recent highlights include debuts with the North Carolina Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, Chattanooga Symphony and Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, and her subscription debut with the Spokane Symphony, where she previously served as Assistant Conductor. In 2024, she was selected for Dallas Opera’s 2024 Hart Institute for Women Conductors. Shira has also guest conducted orchestras such as the Corpus Christi, Irving and South Bend symphonies, and served as cover conductor for the St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and New York Philharmonic.
Shira is passionate about sharing the wonders of music with young audiences and has led education concerts, sensory-friendly events and family-oriented programmes for more than 90,000 students and their families. Additionally, she is co-founder and former Music Director of the Plano Symphony’s Summer Youth Orchestra Camp and served as Assistant Conductor of National Youth Orchestra USA in 2022, returning as Associate Conductor in 2024.
Shira graduated with a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from The Juilliard School, where she studied with David Robertson. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a minor in German from Swarthmore College, where she studied conducting with Andrew Hauze and piano with Marcantonio Barone.
What our alumni say
Working with such high-level musicians is a rare and precious experience for a young conductor. The orchestra followed my direction and listened to my ideas in rehearsals, but at the same time, I learned so much from observing and responding to them. It was truly a two-way exchange.
LPO Fellow Conductor 2024/25
Becoming a conductor is a mysterious path, and opportunities for early career conductors are incredibly rare. The LPO has received me with open arms and everybody has made this experience the best it could have been. It has been an absolute pleasure and a life-changing opportunity.
LPO Fellow Conductor 2023/24
Contact us
If you have any queries about the LPO Conducting Fellowship, please get in touch.
Alison Jones
[email protected]
020 7840 4213