Paul Hoskins has been Director of Music at The Purcell School since 2018. He is responsible for the artistic programme and the musical education of 200 talented students aged 11-18, from all over the world. He has fostered a culture of excellence and ambition at the School. Recent projects that Paul has conducted with the school have included performances at Wigmore Hall of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with Alexandra Lowe, Mahler Songs with Claire Barnett-Jones and Berio’s Folk Songs with Purcell School student soloists. He regularly conducts the school orchestra accompanying student concerto soloists at Milton Court, Barbican, and Cadogan Hall, and the programmes generally include works by many of the school’s own staff and students, who regularly win national composition competitions. He has appeared at Proms at St Jude’s with the school in recent years with James Gilchrist and Helen Charlston.

The school has developed significantly, and Paul has overseen the introduction of new vocational diploma courses, as well as a pop and commercial department. He has prioritised creativity, collaborative working and diversity of opportunity. Students who leave Purcell go on to top universities and conservatoires, and most end up choosing to pursue a wide range of musical careers. In 2025-26 highlights included Ligeti’s complete piano etudes, and a continuous 24-hour concert involving every student that was streamed live.

Until 2018, Paul was Music Director of Rambert, a dance company that played an important role in the music world, with significant commissions, premieres and recordings. Shortly before joining The Purcell School, Paul conducted Haydn’s Creation at Sadler’s Wells with Rambert and the BBC Singers, and a full-length ballet Life is a Dream to Lutoslawski symphonic music with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. As a guest conductor, Paul has worked with many of the world’s major ballet companies, including San Francisco Ballet, New York City Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, and the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. In the UK he has frequently conducted for English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.

He has worked closely with many composers, premiering and touring hundreds of new works; and his recordings include works by Gavin Higgins, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Mark Anthony Turnage. In the UK he has conducted many orchestras including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, BBC Concert Orchestra. He has worked several times as assistant conductor at Glyndebourne and English National Opera, has conducted many operas with various smaller companies, and worked with singers including Jane Irwin, Roderick Willams, Sarah Tynan and Gerald Finlay.