Connecting Past and Present Through Musical Exploration
Read Ashley’s recent interview with Simon Mundy which was published on 6 October on the Continuo Connect website.
He discusses the early days with Florilegium, his work in Bolivia, what he feels about the future of the early music business and how, over the years, he and Florilegium have continued to nurture the next generation of specialist performers on period instruments, many of whom now perform regularly with Florilegium.
Florilegium now has a distinguished position in the early music scene in the UK, Europe and further afield. Read about Ashley’s fascinating work in Bolivia and how an invitation for Florilegium to perform at a festival there in 2002 expanded into a larger-scale project exploring 18th-century manuscripts from the Mission archives. He still has strong ties with Bolivia today, where he founded a choir and period instrument orchestra, forging links between these musicians and his students at Royal College of Music.
He shares observations on his long teaching career at RCM, where he is Head of Historical Performance and was awarded a Personal Chair in 2014: how expectations have changed over the years, the necessity for baroque musicians of being flexible between modern and period instruments, and how Florilegium is committed to providing valuable opportunities for the next generation of players.