Allyson Devenish

ALLYSON DEVENISH, a native of Ottawa, Canada, began her musical career at the Conservatoire de Musique du Quebec where she studied piano and violin privately.  Her undergraduate studies lead her to a B.Mus from Oberlin College (Ohio, USA), following which, she relocated to London to pursue postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music under the guidance of Ruth Harte and Malcolm Martineau.

 Allyson is in demand as a chamber musician, musical director, recitalist, repetiteur and teacher.  Her performance schedule has taken her to France, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Caribbean and throughout the United Kingdom.  She has recorded for the BBC, CBC, Radio France, and RTE 1 (Eire) and played for masterclasses at both the Banff Centre (Banff, Canada) and the Britten-Pears School (Aldeburgh).

 As a Music Director, Allyson had the pleasure of directing the premiere of Looking At The Sun (BAC), Kismet (Arcola Theatre) and assisting on Porgy and Bess (Lisbon). She is currently an Artistic Associate and Music Director with Nitro  where she has worked on projects such as Mass Carib (Lord Mayor’s Festival, Greenwich Festival, Hackney Empire), An Evening of Soul Food/African Cargo (Greenwich Theatre)and most recently, the successful UK tour of Desert Boy.  Allyson is the creative and directive force behind Nitrovox; an a cappella choir whose mandate is to commission and perform new works by black composers with a view to telling stories of the black experience.  They recently portrayed the legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers in a BBC Radio 4 afternoon play.

 As a music educator, Allyson has been involved in several projects with the Hackney Music Development Trust, working with school children from a variety of social and ethnic backgrounds, introducing them to the creative process leading to live performance.  She has acted as consultant for the Peter Moores Foundation scholarship panel.

 Allyson is the creator of syncopation, a chamber ensemble with the aim of researching and performing unknown, undiscovered and unheard music by black composers.

allysondevenish@hotmail.com    ++44 (0)7974 669 336