Lawrence-King, Andrew (3rd September 1959-Present)

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 Harperand 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:

Lawrence-King, Andrew (3rd September 1959-Present)

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