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.
