Andrew Challinger first became interested in music when he took up the recorder in primary school. He later studied the oboe and read music at Cambridge University. For some years he balanced performing engagements with a full-time teaching job, becoming more committed to the recorder when he began work with young players in Berkshire.

He has tutored on many courses with both children and adults and is a regular visiting conductor for the SRP. He performs a range of music from the medieval to the contemporary on reed instruments, keyboard and recorders.

His first compositions for recorders appeared in the 1980s and he now has an extensive list. Performances have taken place not only throughout Europe but also in the USA, Australia, Israel and Japan.