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Biography
Alastair Chilvers is a freelance musician and arts education specialist. He is particularly passionate about commissioning and conducting new works for young people. He attended Junior Trinity College of Music, before reading Music at Queens’ College, Cambridge and training as a pianist and vocal coach at the Royal Academy of Music. He was appointed for two consecutive years as the Lucille Graham Opera Fellow at RAM. He now works for various arts charities, organisations and businesses.
As Music Director of London Youth Opera since 2018, Alastair has conducted four shows for the charity and regularly runs workshops in London schools. This year’s show is ‘Pandora’s Box’, a brand-new commission by Donald Sturrock and Stuart Hancock that will premiere at the Susie Sainsbury Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music in December 2023. Alastair is also Artistic Director of Cambridge Youth Opera, a charity that broadens the creative horizons of young people through opera. During lockdown, CYO’s ‘Digital Opera Workshops’ offered a lifeline to its participants. The quality of the project led to it being featured in a Google Arts and Culture Online Exhibition. In June 2023, CYO performed ‘The Little Black Cat’, a show written and performed by young people in collaboration with the Norwich Puppet Theatre, with 4 sell-out shows in Cambridge.
Alastair’s playing career has seen him specialise as a collaborative pianist, working predominantly with singers. He has worked with multiple opera houses and performed in the top venues in London, including Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall. He has accompanied masterclasses with international vocalists and has performed globally. He is a Samling Artist and was a participant in the Solti Peretti Masterclass in Venice. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was recently elected as an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.
Alastair is a passionate educator who seeks to enable all his students to reach their full potential. He believes music plays a central role in forming individual personality and expression. He is a Visiting Music Teacher at King’s College School, Cambridge and Performance Lead at the Saffron Centre for Young Musicians, where he conducts their orchestra. Alastair also accompanies the annual entrance auditions for singers at the Royal Academy of Music.
Top cover photo – Robert Workman
Bottom cover photo – Jamie Wright
