About Andrew

Biography

Andrew graduated from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) with an MMus in Conducting (Distinction) and works extensively with youth and adult choirs across the UK.

Since 2018, Andrew has been Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland. In this role he is responsible for the oversight of all artistic aspects of the organisation. This includes the delivery of education and outreach, workshops, auditions and running a team of music staff to deliver the work of NYCNI across the 350 singers, age 8-25 that comprise the organisation’s 5 choirs.

As Director of Choirs at the RCS Junior Conservatoire, Andrew has developed a choral programme of 6 choirs involving over 300 students aged 7-18. The flagship auditioned choirs have performed regularly on BBC One Scotland for television broadcasts and have also performed on BBC Radio Scotland. 

Andrew has also worked extensively with the National Youth Choir Of Scotland (NYCOS), most notably conducting in Belgium for events broadcast on BBC 1 & 2 to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

Since 2022, Andrew has been director of the RCS Choir for the RCS Vocal Performance Department. In this role he has conducted performances of Vivaldi Gloria, Faure Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle and most recently, a series of staged Opera Chorus Highlights performances. Andrew has prepared RCS Choir for performances with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra including Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Debussy Nocturnes, Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande  and for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra performances of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges. He has also prepared RCS children’s choruses for Britten’s Spring Symphony and for RCS Opera, productions of Britten’s Owen Wingrave, Weill’s Street Scene, the UK Staged Premiere of Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten in collaboration with Scottish Opera.

Since 2014 Andrew has been Director of Music with Bearsden Choir, where highlights have included performances of Elgar’s The Music Makers and The Dream of Gerontius, the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi, Fauré and Duruflé, Vaughan Williams’ The Sons of Light and Dona Nobis Pacem and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Their 50th Anniversary season also saw him conduct Handel’s Messiah and the great Mass in B Minor of JS Bach. In 2023 Andrew prepared the Bearsden Choir for a recording of a new John Bridcut documentary for BBC 2, “Michael Tippett, the Shadow and the Light”, performing alongside the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in excerpts of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time and the Vision of Saint Augustine. Andrew was also Artistic Director of Les Sirènes, the female voice choir who won the 2012 Choir of the Year competition. They performed frequently for BBC Radio, collaborated with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and recorded two commercial CDs.

With a long standing commitment to music education, Andrew spearheaded the unique Choral Education Project (2016), involving 280 children from schools across Glasgow to perform in Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Bearsden Choir, professional soloists and an orchestra from RCS. He is also an established Kodaly practitioner, delivering modules at RCS and also teaches conducting to RCS Musical Theatre Direction students on the Masters programme.

Conductor

Since graduating with distinction and the school of music prize for excellence from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland conducting masters, Andrew has established himself as one of the most important choral conductors of his generation. His versatility as a conductor sees him work with a wide variety of groups from national youth choirs to adult symphonic choruses and professional orchestral players. Andrew has a strong reputation for quality and a proven track record of developing and raising standards in organisations he works with. He achieves high standards and passionate performances by motivating choirs through his engaging personality, inspiring leadership and a shared love of music making.

SEE AND HEAR ANDREW’S WORK or
CONTACT ANDREW TO FIND OUT MORE

Chorus Master

Equally at home in the role of chorus master, Andrew has prepared choirs for conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Ilan Volkov, Ryan Wigglesworth, Thomas Søndergård, Garry Walker, Martyn Brabbins, Harish Shankar, James Feddeck, Markus Stenz, Christopher Bell, Timothy Dean, Robert Houssart and James Holmes. These have included both symphonic choral repertoire and opera choruses, including the chorus for the UK staged premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Orchestra’s Andrew has prepared choruses for include the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, including frequent performances for broadcast on television and radio.

CONTACT ANDREW TO FIND OUT MORE

Kodály

Kodály Philosophy is at the heart of Andrew’s training and is something he is passionate about because of its impact on music education. He has been a tutor for NYCOS Creative Learning and the British Kodály Academy, delivering musicianship training at both the annual summer school and throughout the year for the Kodály at home accredited online modules. At the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Andrew is a Kodály musicianship lecturer, delivering modules to undergraduate and postgraduate school of music students and undergraduate musical theatre students. At the RCS Junior Conservatoire Andrew has developed a choral programme of six choirs involving over 300 students that is influenced by Kodály philosophy and effectively joins Kodály musicianship to the choral rehearsal.

CONTACT ANDREW TO FIND OUT MORE

Workshops/Training

Andrew loves delivering choral workshops and training for a wide range of groups and organisations. This includes much experience within educational settings, undertaking at least forty workshops with school choirs each year in his role as Artistic Director of the National Youth Choir of Northern Ireland.  In this role he also delivers choral conducting and rehearsal training with school music teachers. He regularly delivers training for NYCOS Creative Learning in choral conducting, song leading/teaching, choral repertoire sessions and how to join Kodály musicianship to the choral rehearsal. He is also a conducting teacher at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, working with postgraduate diploma and masters students studying musical theatre direction. Andrew is passionate about education and enjoys tailoring a workshop or training session to your needs. Sessions are always inspiring and uplifting, delivered with his style of positive energy, passion and getting the very best from those he works with.

TO ARRANGE A BESPOKE WORKSHOP OR TRAINING SESSION WITH ANDREW, PLEASE CONTACT HIM HERE

 “Every year we look forward to our annual choral workshop from Andrew. He manages in a short space of time to engage all our singers and has them singing from the tip of his fingers in a fun and engaging way! The workshops are always well prepared, and uplifting. They inspire both pupils and teachers alike!”

Ciara Hogarty, Head of Music, St Louise’s School, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Adjudication

An experienced choral adjudicator, Andrew has developed a reputation for positive, detailed and constructive feedback. His style of adjudication has proven popular with choirs and organisations, with many repeat invitations. Andrew has adjudicated at the City of Derry International Choral Festival, BBC Northern Ireland School Choir of the Year (broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC One Northern Ireland), Aberdeen Music Festival, Newry Musical Feis, the Scottish Women’s Institute Choral Festival and the Maynooth Choral Festival.

Andrew welcomes adjudication invitations and can tailor this to your specific requirements.

CONTACT ANDREW to enquire about adjudication.