Simon Halsey doesn鈥檛 look old enough to be marking his 30th anniversary.
But he was even more fresh-faced at 24 when he first arrived as the chorus director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
The first work he conducted was Britten鈥檚 War Requiem, then considered to be difficult, very modern music.
Tomorrow he is inducted into the CBSO Hall of Fame, alongside such greats as Sirs Edward Elgar, Adrian Boult and Simon Rattle, at a unique choral concert to mark 100 years to the day since Britten鈥檚 birth.
For the first time in 10 years, the family of CBSO choirs 鈥 the Chorus, Youth Chorus and Children鈥檚 Chorus 鈥 will come together to perform without the orchestra in a main season CBSO concert. And they鈥檒l be joined by two choirs from University of Birmingham, meaning 400 singers will gather at Symphony Hall.
It鈥檚 only fitting, as it was Simon who founded all these extra choruses.
鈥淲hen I first joined, it was just the adult choir and we didn鈥檛 have any education programmes,鈥 remembers Simon, now 55.
鈥淲e only had a few administrators at the top of a building in Margaret Street. Now we have Symphony Hall, all the choruses, offices in Berkley Street and the reach of the operation is enormous in comparison.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 feel a day older than when I joined, though I am just about beginning to get the hang of the job!
鈥淚n those days the furthest we played was Sutton Coldfield and Bedworth. Now we tour to Australia, America, Canada and all over Europe. In a few weeks, we鈥檙e off to Helsinki.鈥
Simon is also Professor of Choral Activities at University of Birmingham, a post he was given a year ago after a chat with the Vice-Chancellor. He founded a Master of Arts course in choral conducting to train the musicians of the future.
But then Simon is used to being a trailblazer. Born in Surrey, he was a cathedral choir boy at New College Oxford and won a music scholarship to Kings College Cambridge.
Then he was a student on the first course for conducting at the Royal College of Music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing to think that there weren鈥檛 any formal courses in Britain before then 鈥 I was the first.
鈥淚f I was German or American, I would have done a masters in choral conducting and emerged at about 28 looking for my first job.
鈥淎s it was, at 22 I became director of music at Warwick University. Incidentally, on the Masters course at Birmingham University now are three students whose parents I taught at Warwick.
鈥淲hen I joined the CBSO, it was an extraordinary time. Simon Rattle was also in his twenties and Thomas Trotter was our organist at just 23. We all had to find our way into the jobs. Simon and I were just learning as we went along.
鈥淚 got by on enthusiasm, personality and love for the music. But I passionately believe in equipping people with the tools to do the job, which is why I was so keen to work with both Birmingham and Cardiff Universities on training the conductors of the future.
鈥淭he very first thing I recorded with the CBSO was Britten鈥檚 War Requiem in the Great Hall of Birmingham University with Simon Rattle.
鈥淏ack then, it was just 20 years old and considered very modern, and people found bits of it very difficult. Now it鈥檚 a standard piece of music. We performed it 19 times last year, 15 times in Europe with three different orchestras.
鈥淲e used to do just six concerts a year, now we do between 20 and 30.鈥欌
He adds: 鈥淢y blood runs cold when I remember my low point with the CBSO. About a year in, the standard of singing started to slip and it was my fault. I remember Simon Rattle telling me to pull my socks up, which I did.鈥
Now Simon is looking forward to conducting his 102nd to 105th CBSO Christmas concerts. This year they are joined at Symphony Hall by Birmingham-born actor Mark Williams for carols, seasonal stories and humorous tales.
Simon says: 鈥淲e used to just do two Christmas concerts at the Town Hall, now we do four for about 10,000 people.
鈥淲e have had fabulous guests over the years, such as Juliet Stevenson, Angela Rippon and Arthur Lowe. We just adore Alan Titchmarsh but I am particularly looking forward to Mark Williams as I am a massive Harry Potter fan.鈥
Father-of-two Simon, who lives in Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire with his wife, Radio 4 producer Lucy Lunt, is in the middle of two of the busiest years of his life, as he tries to split himself into three.
His main commitment will always be Birmingham, but at the moment he is also chief conductor of the Berlin Radio Choir and artistic director of the Berlin Philharmonic鈥檚 Youth Choral Programme, frequently collaborating with his old friend Sir Simon Rattle.
But last year he also took over as choral director of the London Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Chorus.
鈥淚t was too good an opportunity to turn down,鈥 he says. 鈥淚n an ideal world I would have finished in Berlin and started in London. At the moment I鈥檓 doing both jobs, but winding down in Berlin.
鈥淚 spend a lot of time travelling between Birmingham and Berlin. Thank goodness there鈥檚 now a direct flight 鈥 I used to have to change at Frankfurt, four times a week. I often take 200 flights a year. I must be Birmingham Airport鈥檚 best customer!
鈥淚n 2015 my travelling will be mainly up and down the Chiltern railway line.鈥
So what does Simon make of choirmasters like Gareth Malone, who have helped to make singing popular with his hit BBC2 series The Choir, this time featuring Birmingham City Council?
鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful that he is riding the crest of a huge wave of enthusiasm for choral singing. I went to a conference 26 years ago where we pondered how we were going to revive choral music. That鈥檚 when I founded the youth choirs.
鈥淣ow I鈥檓 delighted to see the results of that.
鈥淭he CBSO is my musical family that has nurtured me and I will stay as long as they will have me.
鈥淎t the moment I am on the committee to find a replacement for CBSO director Andris Nelsons. We were very lucky to strike gold three times in 30 years, now I hope we can do it again.鈥
* Simon Halsey conducts the CBSO and Mark Williams in Festive Favourites at Symphony Hall on December 19, 22 and 23. For tickets ring 0121 345 0600 or go to .
