Charles Hazlewood is a British broadcaster and conductor, born in 1966. He wins his first prize for conducting at the European Broadcasting Union Conducting Competition in 1995 and continues to build a career that combines classical music, broadcasting and unusual performance settings.

Career

He performs at the BBC Proms and appears regularly at Glastonbury from 2008 after forming The Charles Hazlewood All Stars, an improvisational band based in Glastonbury, Somerset. The group includes Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, Portishead’s Adrian Utley and saxophonist Andy Sheppard.

Hazlewood presents weekly radio programmes for the BBC, where he offers detailed looks at major works and promotes classical music to a wider audience. His approach includes speaking to audiences from the stage, performing in unconventional spaces and combining music with other art forms.

Projects

One of his projects is Play the Field, an annual two-day classical music festival in his field in Somerset. In its first year it includes performances by his symphony orchestra, Excellent Device!, a food market featuring local produce, and psychedelic responses from The Charles Hazlewood All Stars to the pieces being performed.

He collaborates with Deborah Meaden of Dragon’s Den on the project. The first night of the festival, featuring Gustav Holst’s The Planets, is later broadcast in full on BBC Radio 2.

Ensemble

He is associated with Paraorchestra.