Andrew Ashwin
Singing Adjudicator
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Andrew studied Music at the University of Birmingham, then post-graduate singing at the Royal College of Music, graduating with Distinction. He continued his opera studies at the International Opera Studio in Belgium and the Zurich Opera Studio, before spending one year singing many baritone roles at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. Highlights of his international operatic career include the title role in the Austrian premiere of Britten’s Owen Wingrave in Vienna, Mercutio in Opera Ireland’s Roméo et Juliette, Maximillian in Vlaamse Opera’s Candide, the title role in Lismore Music Festival’s Don Giovanni, Junius in Frankfurt Opera’s The Rape of Lucretia and Danilo in La Veuve Joyeuse, Montpellier.
His has sung numerous concerts and recitals across the UK, Europe, and further afield, including Mexico City, Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The songs of Schubert, Schumann, Vaughan Williams and Finzi have made up concert programmes on many occasions. He recently recorded the role of Pontius Pilate in Bach’s St John Passion, released on the Chandos label. He has sung the bass/baritone solos in much of the choral repertoire, particular highlights including Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem in Basel Cathedral, Handel's Jephtha in Oslo and Krakow (a live radio broadcast), and Mozart's Requiem at the Barbican, London.
As a singing teacher and vocal coach, Andrew is in increasing demand across the country. He was recently admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Schools of Music (FRSM), with Distinction, one of only a handful of singing teachers to achieve such an award. He is a voice teacher at the world-leading Royal Academy of Music Junior Department in London, as well as running the singing activities at Leicester Grammar School Trust. He is former Head of Singing at Repton School, and has also held teaching posts at Nottingham University, Uppingham School and Downe House School.
Andrew is vocal consultant with Crouch End Festival Chorus in London, and he has adjudicated the post-graduate opera competition at the Birmingham Conservatoire. He also travels the world as an ABRSM examiner. He enjoys long-distance triathlons, when time allows!