Andrew Hallock holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands. As a specialist in the style and techniques involved in 16th-century repertoire, he has spent the past decade traveling around Europe and the US in a variety of capacities: countertenor soloist, ensemble singer, instrument maker, cornettist, educator, and independent researcher.
Soloist & Ensemble singer
In 2011 Andrew made his solo debut in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion with the Bach Orchestra of the Netherlands. As an oratorio soloist he is regularly engaged for the passions of J.S. Bach, and the cantatas throughout the year. He has performed in the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, the Salzburger Festspiele, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, the Festival d’Ambronay, Festival Oudemuziek Utrecht, Laus Polyphoniae Antwerp, Resonanzen Vienna, Music Before 1800 New York among others. He has performed with ensembles il Gardellino (BE), English Voices (UK), Ensemble Diskantores (NL), Bach Choir and Orchestra of the Netherlands (NL), Musiche Varie (DE), Vox Luminis (BE), Musica Fiata (DE), il Cuore Barocco (SK), Club Médieval (BE), Sollazzo Ensemble (CH), graindelavoix (BE) and Cappella Pratensis (NL). Since 2010, Andrew has been a regular member of the Dutch vocal polyphony ensemble Cappella Pratensis, appearing almost 200 times on stage with them, and has made numerous concert tours in the US, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal and, of course, Belgium and the Netherlands. They are in the middle of a 5-year project to record music from the 16th-century choirbooks held in the collection of the Illustrious Brotherhood of our Lady in Den Bosch. Their latest CD “Apostola Apostolorum” won the 2022 European Early Music Network heritage project of the year, and appears on the list of “best choral recordings of 2022” at Gramophone magazine. Since 2019 he has also been a regular member of the Belgian art-ensemble graindelavoix. Their latest CD “Josquin the Undead” won the German recording prize Jahrespreis Deutscher Schallplattenkritik 2022. Andrew sang on the 2018 CD “Firenze 1350” with the ensemble Sollazzo, which won the French award Diapason d’or de l’année. Also with Sollazzo Andrew is involved in a multi-year project to record the recently discovered late 15th-century Leuven songbook, including 12 modern premiers.
Cornetto player and Maker
In addition to his singing career, Andrew is also involved in the world of the cornetto; he is active as a player, maker and researcher. In 2010 he and fellow cornettist Nicholas Emmerson founded the brass ensemble Copper & Zink, and have since then performed regularly in the Netherlands under that name. In 2015 together with fellow maker Sam Goble, he developed a course aptly titled “make your own cornetto” where participants craft a treble cornetto from scratch in 4 days according to historical measurements. This course has been repeated on a more or less yearly basis, in various locations including Cambridge (UK), Evora (PT), Schwerin (DE). He studied cornett with Marleen Leicher (BE) and instrument-making with Paul Beekhuizen (NL). As a maker, his workshop has been active since around 2011, and presented instruments at many of the exhibitions and markets attached to the major Early Music Fesvials (Boston, Berkley, Utrecht, Regensburg, Stockstadt, Bruges, Paris et al). He has done a wide variety of work, including mouthpieces, historical copies, new models, misc. repairs, custom keywork, stands & cases, tune-ups, re-coverings… and now focuses on primarily on the under-represented tenor cornett, or Lysard as it’s sometimes known. As a maker and player Andrew has introduced the cornetto to hundreds of musicians at all levels.
Educator and independent researcher
Every August during the festival Laus Polyphoniae Andrew teaches in a week-long specialised course about the notation of Renaissance Polyphony. This culminates in a final performance conducted by himself and his two colleague tutors, directly from the large calligraphic choirbook like we see in paintings and iconography. As a member of the ensemble Cappella Pratensis he has also participated in numerous smaller workshops and masterclasses given while on tour, to local vocal groups, university choirs & vocal departments. He and colleague Tim Braithwaite are building an online resource (also with Cappella Pratensis) for learning to sing like a Renaissance chorister. This project involves the development of a practical curriculum drawn directly from the original pedagogical sources around the turn of the 16th century. It also results in the creation of interactive materials for practicing specific techniques, in the form of videos, games, worksheets, and virtual online tools. As a researcher, Andrew draws on a wide base of interests to inform every facet of his own practice. Of recurring importance are topics related to: historically-informed instrument making, source-based music pedagogy, techniques of 16th-century improvisation, forensic archeology, vocal acoustics and the history & philosophy of science. Committed to lifelong learning, he’s a true believer in the “rabbit hole” method of epistemics. In his spare time, Andrew can be found hanging out in his kitchen, improvising midnight snacks and other scrumptious delights.
