Geoffrey Ashenden was awarded a Bachelor of Music (Performance) Honours Degree in Pianoforte from the Elder Conservatorium University of Adelaide, where he was also awarded the 3 year Elder Scholarship for Voice, and the Selborne Moutray Russel Prize for male voice. He was awarded a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the South Australian College of Advanced Education, and has taught Secondary School music in both Adelaide and Brisbane.
Geoffrey pursued a career as a singer over 20 years. He was a member of Opera Qld’s Young Artist Development Programme as a baritone in 1989, and then as a tenor in 1999. He was a member of The Australian Opera’s full time chorus, has performed and covered principal roles with The Australian Opera, State Opera of South Australia and Opera Qld, been a guest soloist in Oratorio with The Qld Philharmonic & Qld Symphony Orchestras, and has toured the US with Columbia Artists International & the Qld Ballet. He has also performed in the corporate entertainment area for Opera Qld and The Qld Pops Orchestra, and in Asia. He has spent time in Italy studying both the Italian language and classical singing.
Geoffrey was a voice teacher at QUT Kelvin Grove from 2002 to 2008 working with both undergraduate and Masters Degree candidates, and was Assistant Musical Director of the Stage & Screen Summer Schools at QUT Gardens Point from 2004 to 2007. He was a teacher of classical singing in the Qld Conservatorium’s Young Con Programme in 2010. From 2011 to 2018 Geoffrey was a member of staff teaching singing in the Qld Conservatorium’s Bachelor of Musical Theatre degree, working with both undergraduate and Doctoral candidates, a position that saw him identified for an Academic Provost Commendation for his teaching. He has worked as a sessional repetiteur in the Music Faculty of the University of Qld, conducted classes for NIDA Open on the singer/actor, Pre-Tertiary audition masterclass in Classical Singing for the Qld Conservatorium and the Qld Music Teachers’ Association, and has compered concerts and presented pre-performance talks for Opera Qld. He is an experienced adjudicator of singing and piano competitions throughout Qld.
A teacher for 40 years, Geoffrey operates a busy private practice, working with students both locally in the studio, as well as online with those in regional areas, interstate and Internationally. Geoffrey has prepared students for successful entry into courses at the Qld Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU), University of Qld (UQ), Qld University of Technology (QUT), University of Southern Qld (USQ), and Central Qld University (CQU) in Qld, Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and Federation University (FU) in Victoria, Elder Conservatorium University of Adelaide (ECUA) in South Australia, & the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Western Australia. Graduates from these institutions have gone on to success in Australia and abroad. This ranges from principal work with Opera Australia, Opera Qld and State Opera of South Australia, chorus work with Opera Australia and Opera Qld, and post-graduate study at The Royal Northern College of Music Manchester, and Mountview Academy in London. Many have also seen success in both child and adult principal roles, and ensemble work in major touring productions of Musical Theatre in Australia and Asia. He has successfully prepared candidates for undergraduate and post-graduate study in the UK in 4 major Musical Theatre training institutions, (Laine Theatre Arts, Mountview, SLP Leeds & CAST Suffolk). Others have engaged in the writing of new Musical Theatre works in Australia, performed as Principal Artists in International cruise ship shows, undertaken Universal Studios Theme Park character roles in Japan and China, and written and performed in Australian and New York Cabaret shows.
Geoffrey is a Past President of the Qld Chapter Committee, and a former Executive member of the National Council of The Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing (ANATS), and was a member of the organizing committee for the International Congress of Voice Teachers (ICVT) in 2013. Geoffrey has presented workshops for teachers for ANATS Qld and ANATS NSW in Brisbane, Sunshine and Gold Coasts and in Sydney. He continues to seek further professional development opportunities believing that there’s always more to learn.
Geoffrey prepares students for examination in AMEB, Trinity and ANZCA syllabi, and has taken students successfully through to Diploma level in both singing and piano. He is an AMEB Federal Examiner, a Qld Examiner of both Singing and Piano, and a member of the Qld Advisory Committee (QAC) as Examiner Representative for the AMEB for 2025-2026.
Geoffrey is committed to encouraging and mentoring young musicians and teachers, and considers it a vocational calling to share the joys of music making with people of all ages and abilities.
G & D Ashenden 