Biography

Andrew Morley is an award-winning conductor based in London whose work spans over two decades of orchestral, operatic and contemporary music. Recognised for the depth, precision and vitality he brings to his performances, Andrew has built a career that embraces the great symphonic repertoire, the music of our time, and everything in between. Andrew studied conducting and orchestration with Denis McCaldin at Lancaster University before winning the Hertford Choral Scholarship to study with Peter Stark at Trinity College of Music, where he graduated with distinction and was awarded the Ricordi Conducting Prize. In February 2004, he won First Prize at the Allianz-Cornhill Musical Insurance Conducting Competition - the former British Reserve competition - receiving unanimous votes from both jury and orchestra. His career as a conductor has taken him to some of the most prestigious venues in British music, including the Bristol Beacon, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cadogan Hall and the Royal Festival Hall. He has assisted Sir Simon Rattle, Duncan Ward and Matthias Pintscher at the London Symphony Orchestra, and has worked with an exceptional roster of international soloists including Stephen Hough, Jennifer Pike, Peter Donohoe, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Guy Johnston, Simon Blendis, Joo Yeon Sir, Fenella Humphreys, Ofer Falk, David Owen Norris, Wissam Boustany, Huw Wiggin, James Turnbull and more. A passionate advocate for new music, Andrew has given over thirty premiere performances of works by Gabriel Prokofiev, Elena Firsova, Anna Meredith, Tom Coult, Robert Saxton, Tansy Davies, David Wallace, William Attwood, Mark Bowden, Philip Cashian, Stephen Montague, Matt Rogers amongst others. He was also the composer and musical supervisor for Medousa: A Miniature Opera which gained critical acclaim. He premiered Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto for DJ and ensemble which was later featured at the BBC Proms. He has also prepared orchestras for the renowned film composer Debbie Wiseman and for conductors Barry Wordsworth and Ed Gardner. Andrew's programming as an orchestral conductor is distinguished by its ambition and range. With St Paul's Sinfonia, which he co-founded in 2004, he has led over 150 concerts encompassing complete symphony cycles of Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Sibelius; tributes to such diverse composers as Richard Strauss, Britten, Webern, Coleridge-Taylor and Bernard Herrmann; concert opera including Verdi's Otello and Puccini's Tosca; and a sustained commitment to championing underperformed composers including Florence Price, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Ruth Gipps, Ina Boyle, Emilie Mayer, Ethel Smyth, Alice Mary Smith, Grace Williams and Doreen Carwithen. His concert work has been broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and he has recorded for Divine Art Records. The Sunday Times described his realisation of Stockhausen's Gruppen for three orchestras as "the most convincing, gripping, sheerly beautiful realisation of Gruppen that I've heard." Andrew is the Artistic Director of the European Youth Music Week and serves as Associate Conductor of TRIORCA alongside Nicholas Daniel. He is a conductor at the National Children's Orchestras of Great Britain, and holds positions with the Essex Chamber Orchestra, Dorking Chamber Orchestra, and the BBC Elstree Concert Band. He works regularly with the Norfolk County Youth Orchestra, the Wolsey Orchestra, and the Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra, and has held teaching posts at Lancaster University, Trinity Laban and Oxford Brookes University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.