Peter Wilkinson

Peter was born in Halifax, read Modern Languages at the University of Bath and worked for several years as a translator for various EU institutions, latterly in Germany. During this time he studied piano privately with Brenda McDermott (Bath) and Dafydd Llywelyn (Munich). In September 2007 he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music, London, to study piano accompaniment with Michael Dussek and solo piano with Colin Stone and Tessa Nicholson, graduating in June 2009 with Distinction and a Dip RAM, the Academy’s highest award for postgraduate study. For the academic year 2009/10 Peter was awarded the Academy’s Shinn Fellowship, working as a répétiteur for Royal Academy Opera, under the directorship of Jane Glover.

Peter’s particular interest lies in the accompaniment of song. He auditioned successfully for the Academy’s Song Circle, an elite group of art song specialists, coached by Richard Stokes and the late Clara Taylor, and performed with them at the Academy, the Austrian Cultural Institute and numerous private events in London. Peter now partners some of the most exciting singers of his generation, including Mary Bevan, Monika Eder, Marcus Farnsworth, Johnny Herford, Alexandra Kidgell, Diana Moore and Jamie Rock.

Peter’s competition successes include the prestigious Brenda Webb Accompaniment Award 2009, accompanying Mary Bevan, and the Evelyn German Prize for Piano Accompaniment. He was also “highly commended” in the Scott Huxley accompaniment competition and awarded the Gershon Ellenbogen/Maccabaen Award in recognition of his achievements at the Academy.

He has participated in masterclasses given by Rudolf Jansen and Jan Philip Schulze at the Academy and by Julius Drake and Sarah Walker as part of the Oxford Lieder Festival Master Course, and has also accompanied for masterclasses with Barbara Bonney, Diane Forlano, Angelika Kirchschlager, Jonathan Miller, Ann Murray, Kiri Te Kanawa and the late Robert Tear. Recently he has also been closely involved with the North Sea Vocal Academy in Denmark, accompanying coaching sessions with Audrey Hyland, Noelle Barker and Kirsten Buhl Møller.

Peter is privileged to work alongside many leading singing teachers and vocal coaches, and is increasingly in demand as a coach in his own right, both to classical singers and in the field of musical theatre. He also performs in theatre ensembles and has wide experience of solo work, both as a recitalist and as a lounge pianist. He also works regularly as a répétiteur and rehearsal pianist for oratorio and operatic repertoire.