When I sat down to speak with Steven Lloyd, he told me that this was one of just a handful of interviews that had been requested of him — and was, in fact, his first chat with a Western journalist since his appointment as principle conductor of the Cairo Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in the summer of 2005.

I was shocked. For as many publications in as many languages as there are serving the greater Egyptian community, how was it that so many had missed this wonderful jewel in the heart of Cairo?

The oversight is an absolute travesty, the graveness of which is only made more apparent after you have sat and heard the spirit-lifting music that the Lloyd-led CSO creates in a near-empty hall. In the last performance that I witnessed, there were literally more people on stage than in the audience. To experience Beethoven and Bartók at the Cairo Opera House (COH) at this high a level is an astounding experience. Something has to change, and I for one am willing to shout the wonders of this grand and growing institution from the highest hills.

Lloyd is boldly leading the way for the CSO with an infectious enthusiasm and progressive program. The COH’s forty-seventh season includes symphonies, suites and operas by the world’s most famous composers, as well as frequent highlights from lesser or completely unknown masters. All get the same heartfelt treatment from Lloyd and his distinguished ensemble of musicians, so much so that it’s hard not to get caught up in the good that Lloyd is generating here.

Guest conductors and soloists of increasing renown are coming to the COH, and recent CSO performances in Turkey and China have received rave reviews. In the short year since opening up shop in Cairo, Lloyd has done much, but intends on doing a great deal more.

“This is just the beginning,” Lloyd assures me.

Having come to Cairo with a CV far more polished than someone his age could reasonably expect, Lloyd’s energy is undiminished by the miles he has traveled. Sure, the CSO is different from the London Philharmonic, the coterie of youth orchestras or even the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra, which have all benefited from Lloyd’s passionate direction, but it is that difference that makes the challenge of conducting a traditionally European art form in the Orient all the more exciting.

Says Lloyd, “Most Egyptians are not familiar with symphony orchestras. It is really a foreign culture to them, so it will take a bit of education. The thing is, Egyptians are so friendly and open to try new things. You do have to adapt. Previous to this, I was in Oman working for the sultan, and he was an inspiring man to work for, but I would have to say that it is easier here. I think that the warmth of the people and their acceptance is the thing that I will always miss when I eventually do leave Egypt.”

It is magical to watch Lloyd stand center stage with his back to the audience as he alternately slashes and caresses the air until its vibration sets the CSO off in a direction that he deems perfect. His timing, phrasing and attack of any selection is as unique as it is emotively powerful. It is simply a brilliant experience at the Opera House whenever he and the CSO perform, and he has high praise for his very able help.

“The collection of musicians that we have is truly incredible here. I am very honored to be conducting such brilliant performers,” the Maestro unabashedly gushes.

“The Maestro,” as the COH staff respectfully refer to Lloyd, is a popular figure around the COH grounds. As staff members scamper to and fro preparing promo material for a full season of upcoming events, they all greet Lloyd as if he were a rock star. With any luck, the sentiment will spread to the wider community.

It is almost a little surprising that Lloyd didn’t actually become a rock star, as he hails from the very center of the hard-rock universe: Birmingham, England. Lloyd grew up in a city whose musical foundry is better known for forging heavy metal icons Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Led Zeppelin than it is for producing classical composers or conductors. Still, Birmingham boasts a wonderful classical music institution, the Birmingham Conservatoire, and it was at that training ground that Lloyd honed his skills.

Though he does admit to more than a passing fondness for American soul and R&B, he is fully dedicated to classical.

“Oh, I love Earth, Wind and Fire, and especially Stevie Wonder. That music is just brilliant, but classical music is still my first love and what I am most passionate about.”

Also on Lloyd’s CV are a pair of film soundtracks, Avant l’oubli and Vipeère, both Zephyr Film productions. Then there is the orchestral work on several home video game soundtracks, most notably the popular Headhunter game by Sega.

When I ask Lloyd if he has had the opportunity to get away and experience what lies beyond the Opera House’s grounds, his head droops a little as he sighs, “There are always problems, daily problems, that need to be fixed, so I find that getting back to my hotel room is needed and going anywhere else after that is not so needed. I would like to spend a little bit of time at the Red Sea because it just looks wonderful. When I am not working here, I am working back in England, and I am now planning for the next season, so it is really very busy, unfortunately.”

Of course the CSO was established long before Lloyd appeared on the scene. The orchestra gave its first performance in 1959 under the direction of Franz Litchauer. In the decades since, the symphony has played a unique and important role in enriching the musical life of Egypt. Guest conductors have been regular attractions, with the most prominent being Charles Munch and Yehudi Menuhin dropping in to lead the CSO. That’s how Lloyd first came to Cairo: as a guest conductor.

When the CSO moved to the newly built Opera House in 1990, it began to restrict its focus to symphonic concerts, which is credited with ensuring an atmosphere in which the CSO would be something more than a ‘Pops Orchestra.’ Handel’s Messiah, Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony received regular workouts, and the world’s premier ballet companies — including the Bolshoi, the Kirov and the Royal Ballet London — have visited regularly.

That trend should continue under Lloyd’s direction.

Though Lloyd’s contract with the CSO will expire in 2007, insiders hope he will agree to stay on to continue building the CSO’s reputation as a regional orchestra to the point that it can become an international draw. Invitations to perform in far-flung locales are coming in, but Lloyd knows that it will take time to bring the CSO the status it deserves.

As he says at the close of our interview, “Work — that’s what it will take to make the CSO world-class, but it will come. We just have to get an audience here first,” he laughs. et