Although actually born in South America, Paul Calistus Ashley spent most of his early childhood in the Caribbean, in St Lucia and the Bahamas in particular. In a family of serious musicians - his mother, a concert soprano, his grandfather an orchestral conductor and composer, his granduncle a concert violinist, and all his brothers students of the violin - it was hardly surprising that the youngster evolved into a natural child prodigy. He began lessons at four and by the age of seven was appearing in concerts as both piano soloist and accompanist. “I imagine my cultural environment couldn’t have been much better. We were never compelled or indoctrinated, instead, every educational opportunity and all the arts were simply placed at our disposal.”
To further his training he was sent to London: studying with Florence Creighton and Leo Halle, both steeped in the Leschetizky tradition. At sixteen, he entered the Royal College of Music to work with Peter Element and Kendall Taylor. After graduating with an ARCM diploma, Paul Calistus Ashley continued his artistic disciplines at New York’s Juilliard School, from which he received both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees: working with Beveridge Webster, Jacob Druckman, Lillian Fuchs, and Nathan Milstein, to name but a few. He has also worked with Nina Svetlanova (Moscow Conservatory, Neuhaus, and Leimer), Guido Agosti (Busoni), William Masselos, and Daniel Pollack.
Despite winning an array of scholarships, awards, and prizes, Calistus Ashley purposely avoided the “competition” route in building his career, “Competitions should really not be for the arts, especially not beyond a certain level of skill development: at that level of achievement, it usually turns into a game of comparing apples to oranges.”
The artist has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Hollywood Bowl, Reichhold Center, the Hall of the Americas, the Valldemossa Chopin Festival, the Beethoven Festival, and numerous venues throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as on television and radio broadcasts throughout the world, including the BBC and Voice of America.
His consummate musicianship and artistry has been well established: whether appearing as chamber musician, conductor, composer, recording artist, solo recitalist, or concerto soloist; and in collaborations that include names such as Miles Baster, Enrique Diemecke, Nathan Milstein, John Nelson, and Mstislav Rostropovich.
Known for his individualism and eloquent refinement, Calistus Ashley acknowledges that he is never totally satisfied with any performance, “. . . and I will not program a composition until I feel that I have something pertinent to express in it, and can successfully convey its essence.”
Paul Calistus-Ashely has finally put his brilliant performance skills on to an album which takes the listener to another universe.
This album was remastered in web-fi sound at
Luke "Duke" Smith
Director
LCS Solutions Ltd
Consultant - Emile Ford
Technician - Percy Douglas
Read more...