Biography
Ashkan Layegh was born in Tehran, Iran in 1997. He started learning the piano at the age of 6 in Iran. He attained a high-school degree in Maths, which gained him a place to study Architecture at the University of Tehran in 2016.
He won First Prize at the International Barbad Piano Competition, Shiraz, in 2017. Shortly after the competition, the Chair of the Jury, Layla Ramezan, the Lausanne-based Iranian concert pianist, introduced Ashkan to the British conductor Mark Stephenson. Subsequently, Ashkan was invited to perform in a chamber music concert at the Iranian Embassy, Prince’s Gate, London, in April 2017, which was organized by Mark Stephenson (Artistic Director: The Internava Project).
In December 2017, with the encouragement and support of Mark Stephenson, Ashkan auditioned for both the Royal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music in London. He is the first young musician from Iran since the Revolution to be offered places at both institutions, and he won a full scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music.
In July 2018, He performed in The Internava Project (music-makers, no-borders) concerts at Vahdat Hall, Tehran, which were organised by Mark Stephenson (Artistic Director of The Internava Project). Since starting his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in September 2018, Ashkan Layegh has been studying the piano with Joanna MacGregor OBE. He has attended master classes with Jean-Marc Luisada, Christopher Elton, Rustem Hayroudinoff, Maria Perrotta and Elizabeth Sombart. In addition he was awarded a full scholarship to participate Oxford Piano Festivalin July 2019, where he did have Masterclasses with Boris Berezovsky and Steven Osborne, and also did a short interview with BBC Radio 4 about his musical journey.
Ashkan did his London Debut Concert, also with the Internava Project, at the Cadogan Hall, in January 2020, where he played pieces by Swiss Composer, Nik Bärtsch— whom he has collaborated regularly since 2019.
In addition to his piano studies, Ashkan is studying composition at the RAM. He is a keen jazz pianist and he also plays Electric/Acoustic Guitar and the Setar — traditional Persian Instrument. In December 2019, he formed his own ensemble, Ashkan Layegh Quartet — Phemo — to perform his own music.
Since July 2019, Ashkan has been an artist of Talent Unlimited.
