Ashlyn Tymms

Ashlyn is a graduate of the University of Melbourne (with a Bachelor of Music). She shares a glimpse of her musical childhood, and hopes and plans for the future.

What influenced your choice to embark on a musical career? Do you remember the first time you performed in front of an audience?

I have always had a strong interest in singing and music making. From the age of seven I began classical singing lessons and my voice teacher entered me into my first Eisteddfod – I sang ‘Castle on a Cloud’ from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Les Misérables to my first real audience!

How would you describe your musical journey so far?

I followed an active music schedule throughout high school where I received scholarships in both percussion and voice and was Music Prefect in my final year. At seventeen I moved to Melbourne to pursue further vocal training and completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. After a year of performance training at The Opera Studio Melbourne I then focussed on competitions and furthering my repertoire. I am now at an exciting stage and will be headed for London in just a few short weeks! I am about to commence a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at the Royal College of Music.

Which role/piece of music have you enjoyed performing most, and why?

Each new piece opens up new opportunity to grow as an artist, this is the beauty of music and singing – it is limitless!

At the moment I am loving working on the piece I will perform for the first time with orchestra at the Joan Carden finals – Mahler’s Ich bin der Welt. I am also working on a lot of oratorio repertoire including Handel, Elgar and Bach which really moves me.

Where do you hope to be in five years?

Europe/UK travelling, amongst friends and family, exploring, creating and enjoying a career in vocal performance!

The finals of the Joan Carden Award will take place this Sunday, 16 August, commencing at 3pm, at the Great Hall, University of Sydney. Tickets are available from the Seymour Centre and Ticketmaster.