Born in Huntly in 1955, Andrew grew up in a family of Hungarian immigrants. His father worked as a winemaker and grower, and his mother was a horticulturist.

The family moved to Napier in 1957. Andrew completed his education at Colenso High School and received plenty of musical encouragement from his violin and high school music teachers, Anna Wilson and Barry Fell. 

Barry's prophetic words, "Whatever you do when you leave school, don't give up the violin, Andrew," led to Andrew first abandoning his English Literature papers and then his French language papers in favour of completing a Bachelor of Music at Victoria University of Wellington. He majored in Violin Performance, studying with Gavin Saunders.

Work with the Wellington Regional Orchestra ensued, followed by a foray into jazz-rock electric violin in Wellington and London. This eventually resulted in an epiphany that saw Andrew studying classical violin again, first at London's Guildhall College and then privately with Paul de Keyser.

Returning to New Zealand in 1982, Andrew studied with Peter Schaeffer, Richard Panting and Tony Cuncannon, eventually leading to his successful audition for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 1989.

Married with two adult children, Andrew enjoys gardening and cooking (particularly Hungarian food) both in his Newtown home and in Matarawa in the Wairarapa, where he shares a property with friends and is able to run free in his 1968 Series 2A Land Rover.