Patrick Ayrton | Astrophil & Stella

'Astrophil & Stella' is the fruit of a life’s devotion to the spirit and craft of 17th-century music. Harpsichordist, conductor, and composer Patrick Ayrton has delved into the intricate fabric of this era’s compositions, unearthing its hidden mechanisms and timeworn secrets. The result is a song cycle of his own, for soprano and instrumental ensemble. The concert features soprano Lauren Lodge-Campbell and a group of Baroque players, conducted by Patrick from the harpsichord.

Lauren Lodge-Campbell, soprano

Louise Ayrton, violin 1

Yaoré Talibart, violin 2

Jasper Snow, viola

Salomé Gasselin, viola da gamba

Thomas de Pierrefeu, violone

Etienne Galletier, theorbo and guitar

Clara Espinosa Encinas, oboe

Tabea Debus, recorder

Zands Duggan, percussion

Patrick Ayrton, harpsichord, organ and direction

Programme to be announced soon.

Patrick Ayrton divides his time between performance on a variety of keyboards and his work as a conductor.

He was born in London in 1961 but spent most of his childhood in Switzerland. Patrick studied organ and sacred music at the Vienna Academy where he took lessons with Alfred Mitterhofer and attended masterclasses given by Michael Radulescu. Later, he moved to The Netherlands where followed courses in harpsichord and chamber music under the guidance of Ton Koopman. He was a laureate of the Organ Competitions at Innsbruck in 1983 and Bruges in 1985.

Patrick Ayrton teaches thorough-bass, chamber music and improvisation at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He has been a tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra and has given courses in performance at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Gnessin School in Moscow, the Yonsei University of Seoul, the Latvian Academy in Riga and the Summer School of the Salzburg Mozarteum. In 1996, Patrick Ayrton played the title rôle in Anne Cuneo’s documentary film ‘Francis Tregian, Gentleman and Musician’.

His association and collaboration with the Dutch conductor Arie van Beek led him to explore and develop his skills as a music director. In recent years, orchestras of repute have invited him to conduct projects, including the Orchestra of the Auvergne, the Chamber Academy of Potsdam, the Dijon Bourgogne Orchestra, the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris and the Chamber Orchestra of Munich. Patrick is also the founder of the Les Inventions, an ensemble which explores uncharted repertoire from the past (such as the works of Joseph Touchemoulin and Thomas Linley Jr.) Les Inventions work in close partnership with acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8. Patrick Ayrton is also known for his pre-concert talks and is a regular lecturer for the APM (Association Progrès du Management) in France.

British/Australian soprano Lauren Lodge-Campbell studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and at the Queensland Conservatorium, Australia. Lauren was awarded 2nd prize at the 2023 Concours Corneille (Le Poème Harmonique), 2nd Prize and Audience Prize at the 2018 Handel Singing Competition, and was a prize winner in the finals of the 2024 Cesti Competition in Innsbruck. Lauren was a member of the 9th edition of Le Jardin des Voix, the young artist programme of William Christie’s Les Arts Florissants, and is a Samling Artist.

Lauren has performed internationally in concert series and festivals such as, to name a few, the London Handel Festival, the Early Opera Company, the Thüringer Bachwochen, the Gabrieli Consort, the Britten Sinfonia Bachfest, the Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe, Pinchgut Opera, the Atelier Lyrique de Tourcoing, and the Festival International Opéra Baroque & Romantique Beaune, collaborating with conductors such as Alexis Kossenko, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, David Bates, Francesco Corti, Christian Curnyn, Harry Bicket, Stephen Layton, Nicholas McGegan, etc.

At the Guildhall School, Lauren was winner of the Susan Longfield Prize and the Franz Schubert Institut Lieder Competition. The latter awarded her a full scholarship to study at the Franz Schubert Institut in Baden, Austria. Lauren was also winner of the inaugural Cheltenham Bach Choir Competition, the Schubert Society Song Prize at the London Song Festival, and a Semi Finalist in the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition with duo partner, Michael Sikich.

Lauren lives in London and continues to study with Professor Janice Chapman, Yvonne Kenny and Sophie Daneman.