Melvin Tay is a versatile Singaporean conductor based in Manchester, UK. He regularly works with orchestras, opera societies, wind orchestras, and brass bands. Ensembles include BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Northern Ballet Sinfonia, Orchestral Qawwali Project (OQP), and many more. He was awarded the Special Prize at the 2nd International Conducting Competition in Brescia. He is currently the Music Director of Northern Film Orchestra (NFO) and Westmorland Orchestra, and Artistic Director of Leeds Haydn Players.

Melvin has an avid interest in a variety of contemporary music. He recently conducted the world premiere of Rushil Ranjan’s Shikwa, the first-ever symphonic interpretation of Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s legendary Urdu poem, with Manchester Camerata at Bradford Literature Festival. With BBC Philharmonic, he has recorded for BBC Radio 3 and Blue Peter, as well as the new musical U.Me by Theo Jamieson and Simon Pitts for BBC World Service. Regularly conducting performances with OQP in venues around the world, he facilitates the bridging of two musical worlds, Qawwali and western classical music, through his precise and meticulous approach. With NFO, highlights include performing the UK premiere of Michael Shapiro’s Frankenstein to accompany the 1931 film as well as recorded music by composers such as Dom Jones, Jeff Nang, Eric Turnnessen, and many more. He also conducted the recording sessions of David Fennessy’s Panopticon with Psappha and Hebrides Ensemble for NMC Recordings.

On the opera stage, he recently made his Singapore debut conducting a fully staged double bill featuring Menotti’s The Telephone and a premiere of his 65-minute arrangement of Puccini’s La Bohème for four singers and chamber orchestra. He was the Assistant Conductor for the premiere production of The Path to Heaven, a new opera by Adam Gorb. With Opera Viva, he has conducted a series of opera galas and staged performances such as Verdi’s La Traviata and Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.

Melvin is a tutor in conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and has given a conducting workshop at the Royal Air Force, acted as conducting tutor at Junior RNCM, and gave a conducting workshop to members of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company. He is also a team member of ConductIT, an online learning resource for conductors that was awarded a major research grant from Erasmus+. He is also a graduate of the RNCM, where he obtained a master’s degree with distinction in conducting and was under the tutelage of Clark Rundell and Mark Heron. He has also participated in masterclasses by Sir Mark Elder, Douglas Bostock, Timothy Reynish, David Hill, and Neil Varon.