“There is no better chamber orchestra in Britain” The Guardian Royal Northern Sinfonia, Orchestra of Sage Gateshead, is the UK’s only full-time chamber orchestra and the leading professional orchestra in the North East. Since its inception in 1958, it has built a distinctive reputation as a fresh-thinking and versatile orchestra, performing with a trademark zest and stylistic virtuosity. It is the only UK orchestra to have a purpose-built home for all its rehearsals, concerts and recordings. Playing a wide repertoire of diverse orchestral music, RNS works regularly with a roster of globally renowned artists from all genres.
The new season sees the orchestra work with Christian Tetzlaff, Christian Lindberg, Olli Mustonen, Paul McCreesh, Robert Levin, Montenegrin guitarist Milos Karadaglic and a host of world-class singers including Sally Matthews, Karen Cargill and Elizabeth Watts. They have also collaborated with leading popular voices such as Sting, Ben Folds and John Grant. The orchestra contributes to the continuing re-invention of orchestral repertoire with regular commissions and premieres, most recently from Benedict Mason and David Lang, John Casken and Kathryn Tickell. Open in its approach and broad in its reach, Royal Northern Sinfonia engages audiences and communities throughout its own region as well as further afield, with residencies at festivals from Aldeburgh to Hong Kong, as well as regularly featuring in the BBC Proms and neighbouring Edinburgh Festival. Back home at Sage Gateshead, Royal Northern Sinfonia works with adults of all ages and young people, through the Young Musicians Programme and In Harmony project, both of which provide unbeatable instrumental learning opportunities.

California-born conductor Rebecca Miller has earned international acclaim for her compelling, insightful, and energetic presence on the podium and for her ability to communicate with audiences of all ages. She spreads her work between professional, amateur and youth orchestras and choirs, and is passionate about music’s relevance to our society, artistic citizenship, and championing unduly-neglected female composers. She is currently Director of Orchestras at Royal Holloway University, Principal Conductor of the Royal Orchestral Society, Principal Conductor of the Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Orchestra of the Swan. She most recently served as Chief Conductor of the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra in Sweden from 2019-2023.
Her guest conducting includes the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony, Västerås Symphony, Dalasinfoniettan, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Mozart Players, London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Northern Sinfonia. In 2017, Rebecca was also featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductors Preview with the Nashville Symphony.
Rebecca’s discography includes CDs with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (CPE Bach Symphonies / Signum Records, which made the final shortlist for a 2014 Gramophone Award), with the BBC Concert Orchestra (Henry Hadley Orchestral works / Dutton Epoch), and with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (piano concertos by Amy Beach, Dorothy Howell, Cecil Chaminade / Hyperion Records), and three CDs with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (Haydn Symphonies / Signum Records.
Rebecca is passionate about her work with young musicians – she works regularly with the National Children’s Orchestra and LSO Discovery, and has also guest conducted the National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, Wales, and Great Britain, and the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. She was conductor at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior Department for many years, where she formed the groundbreaking and unique JA Classical Orchestra, and previously served as Associate Conductor of the Southbank Sinfonia in London.
Previously, Rebecca served as Resident Conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and American Conducting Fellow of The Houston Symphony, and Assistant Conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. She holds a B.Mus. in Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, an M.Mus in Orchestral Conducting from Northwestern University, and for two years was the Paul Woodhouse Junior Fellow in Orchestral Conducting at London’s Royal College of Music.