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He is a harpist, keyboardist, counter-tenor,
conductor, early music specialist and music director born on Guernsey in
The Channel Islands.
He started out in music when he became Head Chorister
at the St. Peter Port Cathedral in Guernsey and through this he studied at
Selwyn College, Cambridge on an Organ Scholarship. He also graduated in Mathematics and
completed further musical studies in voice and continuo at the London Early
Music Centre.
He taught himself to play the Baroque harp and soon
became known for what was then a rare talent. After venturing out on his
professional musical career following College he became a continuo player
with various ensembles, establishing and sharing directorship in his own
Tragicomedia in 1988.
He took up the position of Professor of Harp and
Continuo at Bremen’s Akademie fur Alte Musix, staying until the end
of the 1990s, and also became a member of the ensemble Hesperion XX.
Also in the ‘90s he put together the ensemble
The Harp Consort and got a seven-year recording contract with the label
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi almost straight away. In more recent years he has
been signed to Harmonia Mundi USA and his first CD with them, Missa
Mexicana, shot to the top of the HMV classical charts in the UK. They have since released several
more award winning CDs.
As a conductor he has led many oratorios and operas
such as Almira by Handel and Euridice by Peri at renowned
venues all over the world.
The recordings he has appeared number over a hundred
with him appearing as a soloist, ensemble member and guest artists and
include Bach: The Secret of the Semitones, Choreographie, Handel:
Almira, La Harpe Royale, The Harp of Ludovico, His Majesty’s Harper
and Vivaldi: Four Seasons as well El Arte de Fantasia, Le
Travaillers de la Mer and Miracles with The Harp Consort,
Ijacaras with Paul O’Dette, Italians Renaissance Dances Vol. 1
with The King’s Noyse and Wolcum Yule with Anonymous 4.
He currently gives recitals and tours as a soloist and
with The Harp Consort as well as making guest appearances as a conductor
for choirs, ensembles, operas and orchestras on an international
basis.
In the field of musical education he is on the faculty
of Barcelona’s Escuela Suprior de Music de Catlunya as Professor of
Early Harp and Continuo.
Recognised for his work and achievements in the field of opera from
the Baroque period, Sheffield University awarded him an honorary doctorate.
Anonymous 4 recordings
Awake and Join the Cheerful Choir (English Traditional)
Harmonia Mundi HMU 907325 (CD: Wolcum Yule)
Harp - Andrew
Lawrence King
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Lawrence-King
- http://www.naxos.com/artistinfo/Andrew_Lawrence_King/2896.htm
- http://www.harmoniamundi.com/uk/artistes_fiche.php?artist_id=53
- http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/interpreters/conductors/8206.php
- http://www.shef.ac.uk/music/staff/academic/alawrence-king
- http://www.harmoniamundi.com/uk/artistes_disco.php?artist_id=53
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