profile
Andrew Griffiths is a musician of rare versatility, equally accomplished in Monteverdi and Mozart, Brahms and Birtwistle. He combines his position as Head Coach at the National Opera Studio with a busy freelance career as a conductor, choral director and coach for many of the UK's leading theatres and ensembles.
Andrew with Londinium in concert (photo: Roger Way)
opera & ballet
A graduate of the National Opera Studio and the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, Andrew is very much at home in the theatre. He has conducted productions for The Royal Opera (Linbury Theatre), The Royal Ballet, Welsh National Opera, Opera North, Opera Theatre Company, Early Opera Company, Mid Wales Opera, Bampton Classical Opera and Iford Festival Opera. He regularly joins the music staff at The Royal Opera, where his many projects have included Wagner's Ring and world premiere of Birtwistle's The Minotaur, as well as operas ranging from Monteverdi, Steffani and Handel to Verdi, Puccini and James MacMillan, and has worked at Glyndebourne, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre and Opera Collective Ireland.
Choral
Andrew is a highly sought-after choral director, renowned for his vibrant and eclectic programming, and his inspirational work with professional and amateur groups alike. He is frequently invited to direct the BBC Singers, with whom his repertoire ranges from Machaut to Ives, MacMillan and Giles Swayne. He regularly leads the choirs at Dartington Summer School, works with the Coro Casa da Música (Porto), and has given concerts with the BBC Symphony Chorus, New London Chamber Choir, Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, and Tallis Vocalis (Hong Kong). He is musical director of chamber choir Londinium, whose debut disc The Gluepot Connection met with widespread critical acclaim, and also leads the thriving Kingston Choral Society.
Orchestral
Andrew has appeared with some of the UK’s finest orchestras. He recently made his debut with the Royal Northern Sinfonia in Bach's Mass in B Minor, and has led the Orchestra of The Royal Opera, the Orchestra of Opera North, the Orchestra of the Swan, Southbank Sinfonia and Orpheus Sinfonia. He has also worked as an assistant/second conductor with the BBC Symphony and Scottish Symphony orchestras.
early music
Andrew is deeply knowledgable and experienced in the world of early music, having worked alongside Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Bicket, Christian Curnyn, Laurence Cummings, Thomas Hengelbrock and Maxim Emelyanychev in repertoire from Monteverdi to Rameau. He has directed Handel and Purcell from the harpsichord with Early Opera Company at Wigmore Hall, and regularly leads workshops at Dartington and with early music forums exploring the music of the early Baroque. He also has a deep affinity with Renaissance polyphony as a founder member of vocal consort Stile Antico.
Contemporary Music
Andrew is regularly engaged as a conductor, chorus-master or coach for the most challenging of contemporary scores. He has conducted world premieres of works by John Pickard, Barnaby Martin and Andrej Makor, the European premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s The Wanton Sublime, classic works by Lachenmann and Saariaho, and worked on landmark productions of operas by Birtwistle, Maxwell Davies, Jonathan Harvey, David Sawer and Judith Weir. He has prepared the BBC Singers for many significant UK premieres, and his own programmes often feature the music of the past two decades.
Vocal Coaching
Andrew's rich experience of working with singers, extensive knowledge of the operatic and oratorio repertoire of all periods, and fascination with the interaction of text and music, ensure that he is in constant demand as a vocal coach. He holds the position of Head Coach & Musical Consultant at the National Opera Studio, works regularly with the Young Artists at The Royal Opera, and maintains a busy schedule of private coaching as his diary permits.
For a formal text suitable for promoters and concert programmes, please view full biography.
1589 Florentine Intermedi at Dartington