Roland Melia

Roland began his wide-ranging career as a cellist playing with National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, English National Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, City of London Sinfonia and the contemporary music ensemble Lontano.  

He has performed a great many of the major classical and romantic string chamber music works and was a member of the Chris Wood Trio (Chris is a multi award winner of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards) in which he performed at numerous folk festivals and for BBC Radio 3. He has taught cello privately all his working life. 

Roland studied conducting with Ilya Musin in Russia as well as with Charles Bruck and David Robertson in France and USA and has since conducted orchestras in UK, Russia, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico and Chile. 

He was the founding Artistic Director of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra where he also directed the Cypriot National Youth Orchestra as well as the first United Nations supported bi-communal youth orchestra. 

Other youth ensembles he has conducted include Scottish National Youth Orchestra, Hampshire Youth Orchestra, Pro Corda Course Ensembles and the London Music Fund String Ensemble.  

Roland has also conducted numerous Amateur Orchestras including Leicester Symphony Orchestra of which he was Artistic Director and White Horse Opera of which he is the Music Director. 

He currently teaches conducting technique to students of all ages, notably at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. 

He has delivered conducting workshops for the Antigua and Barbuda Youth Symphony Orchestra and in UK for Pro Corda and students at Rugby School, The King's School Canterbury, Eton College, for staff at Wells Cathedral School and also for trainee music teachers at Homerton College, Cambridge.  

Roland has produced numerous chamber music recordings and for fun has composed music for theatre and documentary film.