Andi Hopgood
/Singer/Musician/
/Biography/
Andi is a respected vocalist and saxophonist, having graduated with an MMus in Jazz from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2005. Her music crosses jazz, blues, pop, and soul, and she has a passion for improvisation.
Andi’s performance work has taken her all over the UK, Europe and USA. She has released two albums under her own name, and is hoping to release another at the end of this year.
Alongside her solo work, current projects include The London Vocal Project led by Pete Churchill, blues and soul band Hoppi and the Hopefuls, a jazz duo with pianist Jim Watson, and trio with saxophonist Martin Hathaway.
Andi has also returned to university life as a vocal tutor at Anglia Ruskin University and leading choirs including the Suffolk Soul Singers Community Choir, Hart and Soul Choir, and the Cambridge Jazz Festival Choir.
A Musicians’ Union (MU) member since the age of 16, Andi is currently in her second term as Vice Chair of the MU’s Executive Committee, the decision-making body of the Union.
Andi is also Chair of the Equalities Sub-Committee, working on MU policies promoting equality and challenging inequality across the music industry.
Andi’s work with the MU has taken her to Parliament to speak to MPs and Peers about issues including low and no pay, access to music education, and most recently mental health.
She has also represented UK musicians on the world stage, most recently addressing a conference of international musicians’ unions and organisations on health and safety issues including mental health and wellbeing.
Her activism is not just confined to the MU. Andi has also been a local councillor, on her local trades council, and leads a local network of music industry professionals, all in her home town of Ipswich.
