Wass was born on 26 March 1977 in Lincolnshire, England. He studied at
Chetham's School of Music and the
Royal Academy of Music graduating in 2001. Wass has performed at many of the world's finest concert halls including
Wigmore Hall,
Carnegie Hall, and the
Vienna Konzerthaus. He has performed as a soloist with numerous leading ensembles, including all of the BBC orchestras, the Philharmonia,
Orchestre National de Lille,
Vienna Chamber Orchestra,
Hong Kong Philharmonic,
RLPO, and under the baton of conductors such as
Simon Rattle,
Osmo Vanska,
Donald Runnicles,
Ilan Volkov and
Vassily Sinaisky. In June 2002, Wass appeared alongside
Sir Thomas Allen,
Mstislav Rostropovich and
Angela Gheorghiu in a gala concert at
Buckingham Palace to mark the Golden Jubilee of
Queen Elizabeth II, a performance that was broadcast live to millions of viewers around the world. In recent years Wass has become a regular guest at the BBC Proms, making his debut in 2008 with
Vaughan Williams’
Piano Concerto, and returning in following seasons to perform works by
Foulds, Stravinsky, Antheil, and McCabe. Wass has also partnered with many of the leading artists of his generation, including
Mitsuko Uchida,
Steven Isserlis,
Emmanuel Pahud,
Richard Goode and members of the
Guarneri Quartet and
Beaux Arts Trio. Ashley Wass is currently the Artistic Director of the
Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival. He was Professor of Piano at the
Royal College of Music from 2008 to 2018, and then Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies at the
Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Wass is an Associate of the
Royal Academy of Music. He was Director of Music at the
Yehudi Menuhin School from April 2020 to July 2025. ==Discography==