Cello
Ashton Lim is a Canadian cellist with extensive experience as an orchestral player,
chamber musician, soloist, teacher, and administrator. He has performed regularly with
the Canadian Opera Company (COC), National Ballet of Canada, Santa Fe Opera,
Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra. Previous positions include the Sarasota Opera Orchestra and New World
Symphony in Miami Beach, under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.
Performances have taken Ashton to venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall
and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (USA), Lishui Grand Theatre (China),
and Prince Mahidol Hall (Thailand); closer to home, he has performed in the Royal
Conservatory’s Koerner Hall and COC’s Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre in Toronto,
and the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver.
A passionate advocate for arts education and community engagement, Ashton was
actively involved in New World Symphony’s community, education, and audience
outreach programs in Miami. He coached students at the Conservatorio de Música de
Puerto Rico and mentored students at the Academia Filarmónica de Medellín in
Colombia, where he taught private lessons, masterclasses, and coached chamber
ensembles. As an administrator, Ashton oversaw the Solo and Small Ensemble Festival
of the Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festivals for three years, helping to guide it out of the
pandemic to celebrate its centenary anniversary, with registration numbers at an all-time
high. Starting in the 24/25 season, Ashton will take on the role of Executive Director of
the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra. As a teacher, Ashton is on faculty at the
Vancouver Academy of Music.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Ashton studied with Audrey Nodwell at the Vancouver
Academy of Music and completed his ARCT in Cello Performance. He holds degrees
from Mount Royal Conservatory, University of Calgary, Northwestern University, and the
Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers were
John Kadz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, Andrés Diaz, and Desmond Hoebig. Ashton has been
generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.