'Ambitious, intelligent programming... A young ensemble with bags of promise.'
The Times
Orchestral music is remarkably exciting when performed by friends and so with this in mind, the Asyla Ensemble was founded in 2013 as an environment where music is affectionately shared, inspired by many people who have done the same.
Named after the eponymous work by British composer Thomas Adès, The Asyla (a-sigh-la) Ensemble presents thought-provoking programmes, whereby works and composers are contextualised in a didactic yet accessible setting.
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Oliver Till, conductor
Oliver Till is a conductor and repetiteur praised by The Times for 'ambitious, intelligent programming'. Music Director of the Asyla Ensemble, Instant Opera, London Medical Orchestra and Queens Park Singers, Ollie's musical life started as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral.
Having studied composition and piano at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, Ollie gained his bachelor's at the University of Manchester and received further training at Dartington, RNCM, London Sinfonietta and the Järvi Academy, Estonia.
Productions conducted include La bohème, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, The Marriage of Figaro, The Cunning Little Vixen, Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, The Mikado, and Liturgie. Ollie has assisted productions including Written on Skin, Lessons in Love and Violence, The Juniper Tree, Dido and Aeneas, Renard, Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro.
Recent highlights include a programme of Schoenberg, Gershwin, Ravel and Finnis at the Waterloo Festival, assisting major orchestras in the UK, Malaysia, Germany and Russia, and multiple performances of choral works by C.P.E. Bach, Biber, Brahms, Holst and Mozart.
As a pianist, Ollie regularly accompanies recitals, recordings, choirs, opera and ballet rehearsals. Highlights include being an official accompanist at the North London Music Festival, and accompanying Sir Thomas Allen at the Royal Opera House. Dedicated to new music Ollie has conducted over 60 works by living composers including 40 world premières.
Amy Roberts, orchestral assistant
Amy Roberts is a British oboist with a rich and varied career. She has recently featured as guest principal with BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and BBC National Orchestra of Wales and last year saw her perform all over Europe with the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. Other orchestras include Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Hallé, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
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She is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and baroque oboist having recently recorded the Villa Lobos Concerto Grosso and performed concertos by Albinoni, Haydn, Mozart, Bellini, Martinu and MacMillan. Her quintet "Moriarty Winds" perform across the UK in a variety of concert and educational contexts and were CAVATINA Fellows at the Royal Academy of Music.
She recently graduated from The Royal Academy of Music where she received a 1st Class MA with Chris Cowie, Melanie Ragge and Ian Hardwick. Previously she studied on the prestigious Joint Course between the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester studying oboe with Jonathan Small and baroque oboe. She received a 1st from both institutions and won the 2015 RNCM Concerto Competition. Whilst at the Academy she also won the Evelyn Rothwell Oboe Prize, Janet Craxton Memorial Prize and Barry Grimaldi Prize.
Her studies have been supported by the Drapers' Company, the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Philharmonia MMSF Award, the Dorothy Grinstead Memorial Fund and the Charlotte Fraser Award.