William McElwee was appointed the new Music Director of Bay of Plenty Symphonia in 2023. He comes to the Bay of Plenty Symphonia with a wealth of directing and performing experience in New Zealand and the UK. He currently resides in Wellington, where he is Director of Music at St Mary of the Angels Church, Conductor of Gallery Orchestra, and Associate MD of Wellington Young Voices Children’s Choir, while in Tauranga he directs Youth Philharmonic Tauranga, and in 2024 will conduct the orchestra for Tauranga Music Theatre’s season of Les Miserables. He has performed widely as a baritone soloist including with NZ Opera, and his instrumental playing experience includes being a founding member of Straynge Discorde – The New Zealand Lute Quartet. William holds a PGDip in Performance Voice, a BSc in Mathematics and a BA in English and Latin with Honours in English Language. He is thrilled to be working with BoPS and continuing their tradition of brave programming and brilliant playing.