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Equally in demand as a symphonic, operatic and choral conductor, John Andrews is musical director
of the 3 Rivers Chamber Orchestra, City of London Symphonic Winds, Hounslow Symphony Orchestra and Harpenden Choral Society.
He is also principal conductor of Vivace Choir and the The Minerva Consort. In 2003 he formed the baroque ensemble The Cannons
Scholars who specialise in performing English-language theatre works of the eighteenth century. He also works regularly with
Lambeth Orchestra and Ealing Symphony Orchestra with whom he recently conducted Dvorak's New World Symphony. In 2004, he conducted
Offenbach's Robinson Crusoe for Opera della Luna at the Iford Festival to rave reviews in the national press. Last year he
won the Orchestra's Special Prize at the Ist Bela Bartok Opera Conducting Competition for his performances of La Boheme and
Bluebeard's Castle. In 2006 he has assisted David Parry on Don Pasquale at Garsington Opera, and conducted Handel's patriotic
masterpiece Riccardo Primo for Opera de Bauge. In June he made his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting
Saint Saens' Carnival of the Animals in the West End Live Festival.
One of a new generation of scholar-conductors, he is passionately interested in locating music in its social and historical
context. He is researching a doctorate on the political and religious world of eighteenth-century oratorio, and writes programme
articles for New York City Opera. He is also passionately interested in new music and over the last twelve months has given
premiers of works by Fay Neary, David Stoll and Jatinder Chopra. Further plans for 2006/7 include returning to conduct Don
Pasquale at Opera de Bauge, and to Garsington Opera to work on Rossini's La Donna del Lago.
Born in Nairobi, and brought up in Manchester, John Andrews studied tuba with the late Stuart Roebuck, and played with
the Stockport Youth Orchestra and British Telecom Brass Band. He composed from an early age, and his orchestral tone poem
Christmas Night was premiered at the Free Trade Hall in 1991, and his Missa pro Loreto, two years later. He took up conducting
at the age of seventeen, studying with Michael Trowski, Colin Metters, and currently with Alan Hazeldine of the GSMD, and
with David Parry. He has also taken part in conducting classes with Tsung Yeh and Kirk Trevor at Symphonic Workshops in the
Czech Republic, and at the National Opera Studio, and studies musicianship with Agnes Kory at the Bela Bartok Centre for Musicianship.
Between 1995 and 2000 he was a student at Cambridge University where he conducted orchestras, choirs and ensembles of many
shapes and sizes. These included the University Symphony Orchestra, the 150+ voices of the St Margaret’s Society Chorus,
the close-harmony group Menage a Neuf, the symphonic Brass ensemble Sforzando Brass, and the Chapel Choir at Queens’,
Cambridge where he often deputised as singer and director. He made his professional operatic debut aged 21 when he produced
Don Giovanni for Cambridge’s Arts Theatre, uniting students from the music colleges, professional technicians and designers
and a student orchestra.
He lives in London with Susan and their two cats.
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