Andrew Watkinson (Director/Violin)
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You can hear Andrew with the orchestra this season at Lancaster University with international guitarist Xuefei Yang 22.3.12.
Andrew Watkinson has led or directed almost all of London’s chamber orchestras including the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the London Sinfonietta, and for a period he held the position of Associate Leader and Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. However it was with the City of London Sinfonia that he established himself as an orchestral director, giving regular performances with them over more than 15 years.
With the CLS, Andrew has directed repertoire ranging in scale from Small Baroque pieces to symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert and Mendelssohn, all without conductor. A hallmark of these performances has been the enthusiasm and involvement of the players, and the feeling that everyone was using their ears, eyes and musical instincts to an exceptionally high degree. This is also to be heard in the recordings that Andrew has made with CLS, including most recently the 2 CD set of Vivaldi’s concertos known as La Stravaganza, made for Naxos.
An accomplished soloist, Andrew brings to his concerto playing something of the intimacy and intensity of chamber music, gleaned from his experience as leader of the Endellion String Quartet with whom he has given almost 2000 concerts all over the world.
Andrew has now left the CLS, but continues the directing side of his musical life as a guest of orchestras in Britain and abroad. Numerous return invitations testify to the pleasure his directing and playing gives to audiences and performers alike.
