American conductor John Paul Jennings has quickly emerged onto the scene as a young conductor of note. He is Music Director of the Suffolk Youth Orchestra, and Assistant Artistic Director of Regents Opera, where he has led performances in critically acclaimed productions of Strauss’s Die Ägyptische Helena and Verdi’s La forza del destino. He received great praise for performances of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with Green Opera for the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn Festival in 2022, with critics describing it as “a searingly incisive orchestral tableau” (britishtheatre.com). In June 2023, he conducted a new production of Bizet’s Carmen with St Paul’s Opera, and his Czech debut came as assistant and second conductor of a new production of Bluebeard’s Castle at the Moravské Divadlo in Olomouc. Most recently, he led South London Opera Group’s workshop on Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

As a guest conductor, John Paul enjoys a regular relationship with the East Anglia Chamber Orchestra, and he attracted particular attention after jumping in at three hours’ notice for a concert with the Thames Philharmonia. He was featured in the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s Emerging Conductor Showcase in 2022, and conducted the Orchestra of English National Opera in a masterclass with Martyn Brabbins. Other recent highlights include assisting Toby Purser and the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Mark Wigglesworth and Lang Lang with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, both at the Royal Albert Hall. John Paul also assisted on the UK Premiere of Jake Heggie's Three Decembers with Opera Della Luna.

John Paul was the James Horner Scholar at the Royal College of Music, from which he graduated with Distinction. He was Resident Music Scholar of the Robert Anderson Trust, as well as recipient of the Trust’s first-ever Special Award. He studied with Toby Purser, Howard Williams, and Peter Stark, and has participated in masterclasses with Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Roger Norrington, Rafael Payare, Colin Metters, and Jac van Steen. Highlights of his time at the RCM include a highly acclaimed performance of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and working with RCM violinists and the RCM Philharmonic in a masterclass on Shostakovich’s 1st violin concerto with Maxim Vengerov.  

Prior to his time in London, John Paul studied Conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He was a semi-finalist in the Blue Danube International Opera Conducting Competition, and frequently coaches singers in preparing their operatic roles. As a language coach, he comfortably works in English, French, German, Italian, and Czech.

Future engagements include debuts with Hampstead Garden Opera, the Colne Philharmonic, and the Lavenham Sinfonia, as well as continuing his highly successful tenure with the Suffolk Youth Orchestra. John Paul is based in East London, and in his off hours enjoys indulging his passions for fitness, theatre, and electronic music.