Allyson Devenish grew up in Ottawa, Canada, studying piano and violin privately at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. She completed her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College (Ohio, USA), receiving a B.Mus. and B.A., and her postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music.
Allyson has recorded for the BBC, CBC, Radio France and RTE1 (Eire) and is a regular guest on BBC R3 – Building A Library, Record Review, and in live broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall. Her performance schedule has taken her throughout the UK, Europe, North America and the Caribbean.
She has served as music director on countless productions including the premiere of Looking At The Sun (Battersea Arts Centre), Kismet (Arcola), assisting on King, The Musical (Hackney Empire), Porgy and Bess (Lisbon), as well as productions and recordings for Tangle International, and LUNG Theatre. She made her stage directing début in 2022 with The Pocket (Melissa Jo Smith – Theatre Peckham).
Allyson is Senior Staff Coach at The National Opera Studio and guest tutor at Book, Music and Lyrics (www.bookmusicandlyrics.com). She was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in 2022.