Mark Ashford

Mark Ashford, one of Britain's most exciting classical guitarists performing today, plays with an approach that is uniquely expressive and lyrical. As Classical Guitar commented:

'Ashford's playing possesses such clarity and underlying adherence to the sense of structure of the music, as to render the innate difficulties of the guitar a long forgotten trouble that need no longer concern us.'

Mark Ashford, was born in Northampton and began his formal musical training with Gordon Crosskey at Chetham's School of Music, Manchester. He then went on to study with Michael Lewin in London at the Royal Academy of Music, where he graduated in 1993 with a 1st Class Honours degree, the Julian Bream Guitar Prize and awards from the Principal. During the following year Mark continued his studies with the renowned British guitarist David Russell in Spain thanks to financial awards from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Allcard grants and the Royal Academy of Music.

He has won many national and international prizes, most notably First prize in the Scandinavian International Guitar Competition, Finland (1994), First prize BBC Radio Two Young Musician (1994), Second prize in the Guitar Foundation of America Competition (1999), Third prize in the Alessandria International Guitar Competition, Italy (1998) and the South East Arts Music Platform Award (1996).

Mark has performed as a soloist in many of the UK's most prestigious chamber music venues, including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Fairfield Hall, St. George's Brandon Hill and the Queen's Hall, Edinburgh.

As a concerto soloist he has worked with many orchestras, including the BBC Concert Orchestra, London Concertante and the Turin Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of such eminent conductors as Carl Davis, Christopher Warren-Green, Barry Wordsworth and Ignacio Yepes. His many public performances have taken him to France, Italy, Finland, Holland, Hungary, U.S.A, Cuba and Barbados.

Mark's recitals have been broadcast on BBC Radio Two and Three, the BBC World Service and Classic FM. Over recent years he has premiered works by Gordon McPherson, Roxanna Panufnik, Keely Hodgson, Martin Best and Edward Watson. He is currently guitar tutor at the Birmingham Conservatoire of Music.

2002

www.markashford.com