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The English choral conductor, bass singer and singing teacher, Edward Caswell, studied at the Bournemouth School for Boys from 1977 to 1982. He went to Christ Church, Oxford and the Royal College of Music where he studied singing with Norman Bailey. He later studied privately with Edward Brooks and Robert Dean.
Since moving to Scotland in 2003 Edward Caswell has established himself as a versatile widely respected choral conductor, having previously worked as a singer in particular with the Monteverdi Choir, BBC Singers and as a member of English National Opera. Working throughout the UK and Europe he has established a reputation for approaching choral conducting from a singer's perspective. Since 2008 he has been a regular guest with Netherlands Radio Choir preparing them for concerts and recordings with Kenneth Montgomery, Hans Graf, Masaaki Suzuki and James Gaffigan. Highlights include collaborations with Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and in 2013 the Netherlands premieres of The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams and Caligula by Detlev Glanert, both under Markus Stenz.
Edward works with numerous other professional choirs including the BBC Singers, SWR Vokalensemble, NDR Chor, MDR Rundfunkchor, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, Bamberg Symphony Choir, Danish National Choir and Collegium Vocale Gent.
Edward Caswell holds the posts of Musical Director of Dundee Choral Union, St Andrews Chorus and the Wordsworth Singers in Cumbria. He is a director of the Paisley Choral Festival and as a teacher works in the Department of Vocal Studies at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and at the University of Glasgow. In 2013 he founded Cromarty Youth Opera presenting Noye's Fludde by Benjamin Britten, and in August this year the company presented Cinderella by Peter Maxwell Davies.
Highlights of Edward Caswell’s singing career include the role of Fasolt in Das Rheingold for Arizona Opera, L.v. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in London’s Barbican Hall and W.A. Mozart’s Requiem with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra at the St Magnus Festival. Edward continues to enjoy his work as a recitalist and in November 2007 gave his first performance of Winterreise in St Andrews.
Engagements in the forthcoming season include conducting Netherlands Radio Choir in a Christmas concert with brass and preparing them for concerts with Edward Gardner and Markus Stenz, and Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Daniele Gatti.
Edward Caswell regularly leads workshops with children and adults and directs Health and Wellbeing Through Song at the University of Strathclyde. He is a council member and regular presenter for the Association of British Choral Directors. |
