AN Abergavenny man whose distinguished and talented code of conduct has afforded him the opportunity to travel around the world and pursue his passion, will tonight (Friday) be realising the crowning achievement of his career to date when the orchestra he founded will give their first official concert at Cardiff's St David's Hall.

"This is a very exciting and special time for me," revealed artistic director of the Orchestra Europa, Scott Ellaway when the Chronicle caught up with him earlier this week. "The planning and effort that goes into creating an orchestra of this scale is not something that can be achieved overnight. Now to finally be on the verge of realising an idea that had it's genesis over two years ago is a magical feeling."

The road that 26-year-old Scott Ellaway has travelled from talented musician to internationally renowned composer is as remarkable as it is interesting, and throughout Ellaway's one constant traveling companion has remained his abiding love for music.

"It all started for me with the Abergavenny Borough Band," recalls the former King Henry schoolboy. "I was a cornet player, before I ended up with the Cadets Force Band, and that was great because we received a lot of coaching from musicians in the Welsh Guards.

"Another important factor was that being in the cadets enabled me to see a little bit of the big wide world at a young age, because we were given the chance to tour and play in other countries."

At the age of 11, Ellaway was introduced to the sounds of the organ about which he said, "The organ was really my passport to other positions in the world of music. I first started playing the organ at St Mary's Church, and from there I graduated to becoming the organist at Bristol Cathedral at the age of 16.

"From Bristol the organ took me to Worcester Cathedral, where I was an organ scholar for a year, before heading to Oxford University to study music."

Although Ellaway was first and foremost a pianist in his younger years, his first taste of conducting came at the ripe old age of 11. "The first time I conducted was in Tenby," recollects Ellaway, "The bandmaster hadn't turned up for some reason or other, and I just thought 'Right! I wouldn't mind giving this a go. So I jumped in feet first, and haven't looked back since.

"In retrospect I think my love of conducting stems from an early age. I always wanted to be in control of something that had both size and power. It started with choirs and then I finally made the step up to orchestras."

After conducting the Bristol Choir at the age of 16, Ellaway made his professional debut at the age of 21 with players from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera.

At the time he was still an undergraduate at Oxford University where in his own words he, 'really honed in on his orchestral skills.'

After graduating in the summer of 2005, Ellaway met leading conductor Michael Tilson Thomas in London, who asked the young graduate to work alongside him with his renowned New World Symphony in Miami.

Ellaway told the Chronicle, "Michael is the principal conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, and founded the New World Symphony in 1987, which is a premier orchestral academy for gifted young musicians whose stated mission is '...to prepare highly-gifted graduates of distinguished music programs for leadership roles in orchestras and ensembles around the world.'

"It was a real learning curve working alongside Michael, and I remember thinking at the time, we don't have anything like the San Francisco Symphony in Europe."

Upon returning to London Ellaway undertook a number of high-profile engagements, including becoming the youngest British conductor to direct the London Philharmonia Orchestra since Simon Rattle.

Alongside his own conducting work, Ellaway has studied with and assisted many of the world's leading conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Sir Andrew Davis, Vernon Handley, Jorma Panula and Charles Hazlewood.

As a firm advocate of contemporary music Ellaway has also worked extensively with composer Robert Saxton.

However, two years ago Ellaway started to plan his vision of realising something along the lines of a European version of Michael Tilson Thomas's San Francisco Symphony.

"The primary goal of Orchestra Europa is to bridge the gap between student campus and professional orchestra," said Ellaway. "Europa will draw on the continent's finest youth talent, providing a valuable platform for post graduate musicians to advance their careers on the international stage. Typically prospective students will have reached a high level of music education and will be looking to turn that knowledge into a productive career.

"The orchestra will perform in some of the finest concert halls in Europe, working alongside some of the world's leading artists, with each concert featuring a major guest soloist or conductor."

Performing with principal conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko, and pianist Ayako Uehara, Orchestra Europa will perform Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganni and works by Beriloz and Dvorak at St David's Hall tomorrow night.

Ellaway said, "I am delighted to be bringing Orchestra Europa to Wales to launch our first international concert series. It means a great deal to me personally to be able to bring this unique and exciting project to the country that was so influential in my own musical development.

" It will also be a bit strange for me on the night, because I won't be conducting, so it will be very interesting for me to listen to my own orchestra from the point of view of the audience."

Ellaway finally added, "It's taken a lot of persuasion, planning, and downright hard work to get to this point, but any good conductor wants to work with young musicians, and I firmly believe that the fusion of youthful vitality and professional experience makes Orchestra Europa

a success story that will definitely leave its mark on the music world."