Andrew Webb-Mitchell

Webb-Mitchell’s Violin Concerto Arin Mirkan was given its world premier in April 2018 at the Gürzenich Hall in Cologne by the Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Volker Hartung. Subsequently, the composer has developed a strong association with the orchestra which also premiered his symphonic tone poem Night of Sevens at Changsha Concert Hall in September 2019 before embarking on a ten-city tour of the work across China. Night of Sevens was warmly received by the Chinese public, partially due to the composer’s setting of a Song Dynasty poem, sang in the original Mandarin. A radio program featuring a performance of the work and interview with the composer was subsequently broadcast on Wenzhou Radio and China Radio International.

Born in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire in 1970, Andrew Webb-Mitchell lives and works in China, where he founded and conducts the Zhuhai Classical Children’s Choir. The Zhuhai Classical Children’s Choir made its debut with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015 and is emerging as one of Asia’s finest choral ensembles. Recent performances include concerts with the Russian National Orchestra under Thomas Sanderling, Sinfonietta Cracovia conducted by Jurek Dybal, the Guiyang Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rico Saccani and the Cologne New Philharmonic conducted by Volker Hartung. The Zhuhai Classical Children’s Choir has appeared at many of China’s finest and most prestigious concert halls, including at the Central Conservatory of Music Beijing in a concert subsequently broadcast on China Central Television.

Andrew is currently embarking on his first piano concerto, due to be premiered in December 2020. An opera with Danish librettist Eva Sommestad Holten, based on the life of Italian sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini is also in the planning stage.