Biography
Known for pushing boundaries in experimental repertoire, Ashley Bathgate has earned recognition as a cellist who thrives equally in group settings and, with growing frequency, on her own. For an extended period she belonged to the Bang on a Can All-Stars.
She entered the world in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1985 and later resettled in the region once her independent path strengthened. Initial instruction came from Rudolf Doblin, one-time principal cellist of the Buffalo Philharmonic, followed by study at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs under Ann Alton. During those years Bathgate performed with the Empire State Youth Orchestra and twice claimed first place in the Lois Lyman Concerto Competition, interpreting works by Saint-Saëns and Schumann at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Her undergraduate training took place at Bard College in upstate New York with Luis Garcia-Renart; there she presented concertos by Eugen d'Albert and Samuel Barber, both led by the institution’s president, Leon Botstein. Graduate work brought her to Yale University, where Aldo Parisot served as her mentor, and she captured the school’s concerto competition in 2008.
The next year she joined the Bang on a Can All-Stars, an affiliation that lasted until 2019. Her first appearance on record came in 2010 on Martin Bresnick: Everything Must Go, after which she contributed to multiple Bang on a Can All-Stars releases.
Time with the ensemble steered her deeper into present-day composition, introducing her to electronic techniques and partnerships with artists beyond classical traditions. Additional affiliations formed with HOWL, Bonjour, and the duo TwoSense alongside pianist Lisa Moore. In 2015 she shared the stage with dancer Lil Buck for the debut of the project “What Moves You” at South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival and introduced Kate Moore’s cello concerto Stories for Ocean Shells, written expressly for her, in Utrecht, Netherlands. One year later the same piece served as her first solo album, issued by the Cantaloupe label. Several further avant-garde projects appeared on New Amsterdam Records, among them ASH, a work created for Bathgate by the composer collective Sleeping Giant. She next turned to New Focus Recordings for the 2023 release 8-Track.
She entered the world in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1985 and later resettled in the region once her independent path strengthened. Initial instruction came from Rudolf Doblin, one-time principal cellist of the Buffalo Philharmonic, followed by study at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs under Ann Alton. During those years Bathgate performed with the Empire State Youth Orchestra and twice claimed first place in the Lois Lyman Concerto Competition, interpreting works by Saint-Saëns and Schumann at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Her undergraduate training took place at Bard College in upstate New York with Luis Garcia-Renart; there she presented concertos by Eugen d'Albert and Samuel Barber, both led by the institution’s president, Leon Botstein. Graduate work brought her to Yale University, where Aldo Parisot served as her mentor, and she captured the school’s concerto competition in 2008.
The next year she joined the Bang on a Can All-Stars, an affiliation that lasted until 2019. Her first appearance on record came in 2010 on Martin Bresnick: Everything Must Go, after which she contributed to multiple Bang on a Can All-Stars releases.
Time with the ensemble steered her deeper into present-day composition, introducing her to electronic techniques and partnerships with artists beyond classical traditions. Additional affiliations formed with HOWL, Bonjour, and the duo TwoSense alongside pianist Lisa Moore. In 2015 she shared the stage with dancer Lil Buck for the debut of the project “What Moves You” at South Carolina’s Spoleto Festival and introduced Kate Moore’s cello concerto Stories for Ocean Shells, written expressly for her, in Utrecht, Netherlands. One year later the same piece served as her first solo album, issued by the Cantaloupe label. Several further avant-garde projects appeared on New Amsterdam Records, among them ASH, a work created for Bathgate by the composer collective Sleeping Giant. She next turned to New Focus Recordings for the 2023 release 8-Track.
Albums
