Our Choir Director Andrew Dunlop is currently studying as a Fulbright Scholar for his Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) in Piano Performance at the Eastman School of Music, under the guidance of Professor Barry Snyder, having previous studied with Mark Ray, Alexander Melnikov and Carole Presland at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK. While at the RNCM, Andrew graduated with both his Masters of Music in Performance with Distinction and his Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours. He was awarded the Alfred Clay Scholarship for the highest mark in his final recital and the Hilda Anderson Dean Award for the highest academic marks, in addition to the Alan Rawsthorne Award, the William Humphreys Dayas Prize, first prize in the RNCM Concerto Competition and third prize in the RNCM Recital Prize Competition. Andrew is grateful to have been awarded an array of Scholarships by numerous bodies including Eastman, the RNCM, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Craxton Memorial Trust, the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, the Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship, and the Doris Strake Prize from the Worshipful Company of Musicians, amongst others.
Recent concerto performances include Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 1, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major (‘Emperor’) Op. 73, Mozart Piano Concerto in A Major K.488 and both Bartòk’s Third Piano Concerto and Ravel’s G Major Piano Concerto with the RNCM Symphony Orchestra. Andrew has played in many venues throughout the country and last year completed a tour of New Zealand’s South Island, completeing a tour of UK and Spain this year with cellist Colin Stokes in addition to making his BBC Radio 3 debut. A keen pedagogue, his paper investigating practice methods and musical achievement was presented at the 2009 International Research in Music Education Conference, at Exeter University.
Born in 1985 in the Scottish West Highland town of Oban, Andrew grew up in the nearby village of Connel, gaining his formative education at Achaleven Primary School and Oban High School respectively.
