Roy Theaker has a diverse and well-travelled career as Conductor, Music Director, Concertmaster and Violin soloist. He has lit up the stage from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall New York, and London’s West End to Santory Hall Japan, in both the highbrow classical world and the commercial theatre, rock and pop industry.
For a number of years he was a conductor on Walt Disney’s hit musical “The Lion King” in both the West End and later in Melbourne, and since 2013 is Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Stonnington Symphony Orchestra, performing with a host of Australian commercial artists such as Archie Roach, Lior, Ella Hooper, Patrice Tipoki, Dave Grainy, Rebecca Barnard, and Vika & Linda Bull, plus Classical names such as Siobhan Stagg, Caroline Almonte, Jacqueline Porter and Liane Keegan. Other recent conducting highlights include return visits with the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin and the Bulgarian National Radio Orchestra, Sofia.
An acclaimed violinist, known for his musical diversity, engaging stage presence and blistering technical ability he was a Concertmaster with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and has guest led the Sydney & West Australian Symphony Orchestras, plus the Singapore Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic. Now happily freelancing, his solo playing is regularly appreciated by Melbourne theatregoers in shows from “Book of Mormon”, to “Evita”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, "Kiss of the Spider Women”, and Opera Australia’s recent productions of “Sunset Boulevard”, “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Cinderella” - and he has shared the big stage with the likes of Hugh Jackman, Robboe Williams, Tina Arena and Andrea Bocelli. He also has his own “Spectacular Violin Shows” and has performed to capacity audiences of hundreds of thousands, in Australian theatres and on board a vast array of luxury Cruise ships.
A graduate of Chichester Cathedral Choir, the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Vienna Conservatoire and the Royal Academy, London - he was a violinist in the Academy of St.Martin in the Fields, until moving to Portugal in 2003 to take up the role of Concertmaster and Associate Conductor of the Orquestra do Algarve.
He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2012, holds a Masters in Business Admin (MBA) and plays lots of tennis.
Roy is fortunate to have been lent a number of prestigious instruments including Yehudi Menuhin's Carlo Antonio Testore viola c.1750, and violins by Matteo Goffriller c.1710, Giovanni Francesco Pressenda c.1830, and currently he plays on his own Honoré Derazey, c.1840.