Scottish conductor Cole Bendall is recognised for bold programming, imaginative staging, and a compelling presence on the podium. Equally at home in traditional and unconventional spaces, he brings clarity, energy, and narrative focus to every performance, earning a reputation for dynamic choral and orchestral work and a particular flair with youth ensembles and interdisciplinary projects.

Now based in London, Cole is Music Director of Reigate & Redhill Choral Society, Woking Choral Society, and Holmbury St Mary Choral Society, and has previously led Brockham Choral and the Surrey County Youth Choir. His recent orchestral collaborators include the Academy of Ancient Music, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Covent Garden Sinfonia, Southern Pro Musica, British Sinfonietta, and Amadeus Orchestra. In 2025, he conducted the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir at the European Choral Association’s Leading Voices Festival.

His international-level work has included projects with the Rundfunkchor Berlin and Turkish State Choir, masterclasses with the Hallé Choir, New Dublin Voices, and Epiphoni, and a Symphonic Conducting Fellowship at the Miami Beach Classical Music Festival. As founder and Artistic Director of The Reid Consort (2016–22), Cole earned national acclaim for striking performances in Scotland, including Arvo Pärt’s Passio, his devised Patchwork Requiem, and recordings for the National Library of Scotland. Recent repertoire includes Verdi Requiem, Britten Serenade, McDowall Da Vinci Requiem, Smyth Mass in D and Handel Messiah. His recent orchestral reduction of Elgar’s The Music Makers has been performed across the UK and the United States. Upcoming work features Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the London Mozart Players, Britten’s Saint Nicolas with Farnham Youth Choir, guest sessions with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir, and international work in Europe and Canada.

A dedicated educator and animateur, Cole delivers vocal workshops, designs large-scale singing projects and training resources for organisations nationwide. Recent work has included with National Youth Choir, Pimlico Musical Foundation, Triborough Music Hub & English National Opera, Grange Park Opera, and Surrey Arts. His work has been recognised with scholarships and awards by the Association of British Choral Directors, the Association of Teachers of Singing, and Help Musicians UK. A prize-winning graduate of the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, Cole has held academic posts at St Andrews and Edinburgh, and contributes writing to The Choral Journal, Oxford University Press and his Substack, You Set the Tone.