Ashley Wass UK← Back to list

Described as an ‘endlessly fascinating artist’, Ashley Wass’s musical career is one of unusual creativity and variety. Alongside his work as soloist and chamber musician, he was Artistic Director of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival for eleven years, held professorships at both the RCM and RNCM, and is now Director of Music at the Yehudi Menuhin School in both the UK and Qingdao. The diverse list of people and organisations with whom he has collaborated include film festivals, art galleries and animators, children’s television presenters and stars of the stage and screen, illustrators, literary festivals and renowned authors, and mime artists and comedians.

Ashley is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. He has appeared several times as soloist at the Proms, and as performed at many of the world’s finest concert halls and with numerous renowned orchestras and conductors. He won the London International Piano Competition in 1997, a success that led to him becoming the first solo artist to obtain an exclusive deal with Naxos, and has received great critical acclaim for an extensive discography covering music from a wide range of styles and eras.

Much in demand as a chamber musician, Ashley is a frequent guest of international festivals and was also a co-founder of Trio Apaches. In 2016, he co-founded Mash Productions, a production company that is focused on realising innovative and ambitious projects. He has commissioned over a dozen new works from some of the world’s leading composers, produced a series of acclaimed musical plays, created a live show in partnership with the Charlie Chaplin Foundation, and written and produced a series of concerts for children which combines his own scripts with great pieces of classical music and has been toured and performed to thousands of children by leading orchestras around the UK and Europe.