Alistair is a young pianist and conductor hailing from Cumbria, England, now based in London, and is a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio for 2024/25. He is experienced in working with classical singers in many capacities, including as song accompanist, vocal coach, repetiteur, and assistant conductor. Most recently Alistair has worked as a freelance repetiteur at the Royal Opera House, on a production of Sarah Angliss’s chamber opera GIANT at the Linbury Theatre. In 2022 Alistair completed his Master’s studies as a Repetiteur at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (receiving a Starred Award) and then continued at the same as a Junior Fellow (Assistant Conductor). At Guildhall, Alistair has played for operas including Judith Weir’s Blond Eckbert, Luka Venter’s Lanternfish and the London stage premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as well as having performed a variety of scenes from the standard repertoire (Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Albert Herring, Jenůfa, La voix humaine, L'enfant et les sortilèges). Most recently he has acted as Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for GSMD’s production of Respighi’s Maria Egiziaca and La bella dormente nel bosco. Alistair is a long-time collaborator of Cumbria Opera Group, and has played for a number of its projects since its inception in 2016, including Così fan tutte (2021), Don Giovanni (2023), Bach’s St John Passion (2023) and Kings, Witches, Lovers and Souls (2024).

Alongside his work in opera, Alistair is a keen song accompanist, having been a student on the week-long ‘Art of Song’ masterclass at the Dartington Music Summer School in 2022, studying song performance with Joseph Middleton and Mary Bevan. He was awarded a place on the Pembroke Lieder Scheme in 2021, alongside baritone Oscar Simms, and was a semi-finalist in the Clare College Song Competition of that year.

Prior to his studies at Guildhall, Alistair completed his undergraduate studies in Music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a repetiteur for various student productions including Le nozze di Figaro, Acis and Galatea, and the second UK performance of Philip Venables’ Denis & Katya. There he also spent some time on the podium, conducting the orchestra of the Clare College Music Society in performances of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 7 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 (‘Unfinished’). As a solo pianist, Alistair has performed numerous recitals in the Chapel of Clare College, West Road Concert Hall, and the Chaplaincy of Lancaster University, including repertoire such as Morton Feldman’s Palais de Mari (1986) and John Adams’ Phrygian Gates (1978).