biography
philosophy
performance
venues/tours
recordings
BIOGRAPHY
Graham Ashton trained at the Royal Academy of Music. As a soloist, he has appeared with numerous orchestras all over the world including the BBC Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Australia’s ABC Symphonies, Australian Chamber Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, and SABC Orchestras in South Africa. In New York he has appeared with the New York Virtuosi, New York Bach Orchestra and Orchestra of Our Time.
Professor Ashton has made eight acclaimed solo recordings with the English Chamber Orchestra, English Symphony, Sinfonia of London and Irish Chamber Orchestra for EMI, Virgin Classics, Nimbus, IMP Classics, Koch and Claves. Of his BBC award-winning cd ‘The Contemporary Trumpet’ (Virgin Classics), The Gramophone wrote: "Graham Ashton shows himself to be an acutely thoughtful musician: virtuosity is never regarded as an end in itself, the sound is never brazen, and he conveys an unswerving clarity of vision which should be admired beyond the confines of the brass world".
A champion of brass chamber music, Graham Ashton is recognized throughout the world for his visionary performances and imaginative programming. From 1981-84, he was a member of the legendary Philip Jones Brass Ensemble in London, with whom he made several recordings and toured most of Europe, USA, and Japan. Professor Ashton founded the Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble (GABE) at the start of the new millennium when he relocated to New York. GABE quickly made its mark by drawing together an eclectic mix of New York’s most distinguished brass players. They made their US début at the 25th anniversary conference of the International Trumpet Guild in 2000, and have since given many performances throughout New York including Rockefeller University, Miller Theater, Columbia University, Purchase College, Juilliard School, Lyric Chamber Music Society, Century Club, Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museums. They have also given concerts in the Embassy Series and National Cathedral in Washington DC, and in the States of Wyoming, Colorado, and New Jersey. In 2006 they appeared at the Epsival Festival in France and toured Ireland for Music Network. In 2008-09 season GABE will tour UK, France, Romania and Japan. GABE records for Signum Classics (London) and was nominated in the finals of the 2005 Grammy Awards. The Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble are in residence at Purchase College giving masterclasses, seminars and workshops throughout the year, together with two public performances at the Neuberger Museum on the Purchase College campus.
Professor Ashton has also made over 40 arrangements for brass and written many original works for a variety of instruments. Most recent compositions include Dreamsuite (Premier: Dublin Castle, Eire/2005), Fanfare for ANZAC Day (Premier: National Cathedral, DC/2006); Miniatures (Premier: Usdan, LI/2006); Tibetan Chant (Premier: Lyon, France/2007) and Concerto for Trumpet and Wind (Premier: Fredonia, NY/2007), and Symphony for Winds (Premier: Beijing, China/2008). He will also make an arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition for brass, organ and percussion (Leipzig, Germany/ 2008). All arrangements and compositions are published by GABE Publications.
Graham Ashton is a clinician for the Edwards Instrument Company whose trumpets he plays exclusively. He also has his own range of Graham Ashton Mouthpieces made by the Dave Houser Mouthpiece Company.
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