"My son, Danial, is 11 years old and started violin lessons with Peter after passing his ABRSM Grade 4 violin; he had wanted to give up violin at this stage. In Peter, we were fortunate enough to have found a gifted teacher and musician who has transformed a pupil from wanting to give up playing violin to voluntarily auditioning for a school concert. He has worked patiently to improve intonation and accuracy of playing whilst making it fun. He is able to communicate effectively and instill confidence whilst working on solutions to correct areas of weaknesses. An exceptional feature of Peter’s teaching is the recording of practice sessions in between lessons so both pupil and Peter (via email) can listen and evaluate. The feedback from Peter is immensely valuable as any weaknesses/errors are identified on an on-going basis which prevents repetition of the same errors in the next practice session. My son has had several teachers before Peter, and it is a tribute to Peter that he rates him as the best teacher he has ever had! As a further endorsement of Peter’s teaching, I have also recently started taking piano lessons from him…"

"Peter is a wonderful teacher. Firmly grounded in his profound commitment to music and in his great and wide-ranging musical talent, Peter’s teaching is characterized at once by serious professionalism and friendly openness. I started taking violin lessons with Peter thirteen years after having stopped, on taking Grade 8 and leaving secondary school. In those thirteen years I continued playing, especially in ensemble, but irregularly, with no proper guidance: I grew increasingly aware of the gap between the kind of music-making I was hoping to engage in and my actual skill. With insight and creativity, Peter was able to detect and highlight the playing habits that were most getting in the way, and suggest effective ways of improving. I have been particularly impressed by his capacity to combine sharp focus on technique with rich and detailed analysis of the musical dynamics of individual pieces. In this respect, it is a privilege to work with a teacher who is not only an excellent violist/violinist, but an amazingly well-rounded musician. I owe Peter a newfound depth of appreciation of the beauties and pleasures of violin playing."

"I approached Peter explaining that I was totally blind, that I had been playing the flute for the last 17 years and had learned as an adult, I was teaching flute full-time and played in a local amateur orchestra in Ely. Peter’s response to my initial enquiry was immediate and friendly. He was willing to teach me but admitted he knew nothing about Braille music – I reassured him I could deal with that side of things. Each lesson has been carefully thought out, giving me just enough information to enable me to inch my way forward. Peter politely requests a standard of excellence, and is careful in his approach when suggesting exercises to improve areas of difficulty. The lessons are fun and challenging, and any problems that have occurred due to my lack of vision Peter has clearly thought through during the week and come up with possible solutions for me to try in order to achieve success. Peter is punctual and reliable and communicates well between lessons when the need arises. I believe Peter is an excellent musician and teacher, and will be an asset wherever he performs or teaches."

"Peter has given me monthly viola lessons since summer 2010, and I have found them both productive and enjoyable. From the very first lesson, Peter has gently but clearly pointed out several areas where, one step at a time, improvements are needed, but he does so in a way that maintains the pupil’s self-confidence. He describes each small step precisely enough to be straight-forward, so at each lesson I can show some progress from last time, and then be ready to understand what I need to do next."

"Peter has been teaching our son Joe for the past three years. Joe was 5 years old when he started his violin lessons with Peter. From our experience there is no doubt that Peter is an expert in his field, his qualifications and recent selection on to Southbank Sinfonia are testament to that. What is far more impressive is Peter’s ability to communicate and pass on his expertise to a young child. Joe comes out of his violin lessons confident and happy. Peter’s contemporary teaching method is effective and empowering in that he is able to correct Joe’s technique effectively using positive feedback which builds on what has been done well, and extract from the child what can be done better. Joe feels that he has been helped to find the solution to the question posed to him. His relaxed and fun approach to teaching is inspirational. Joe definitely recommends Peter to any child and as parents we recommend Peter without any reservations."

“Peter teaches music theory to my two daughters aged 10 and 8. Both girls warmed to him instantly and he has been extremely good at making a tricky subject interesting and explaining difficult concepts to them. He is honest, punctual, and nice to have around, and I would not hesitate to recommend him for employment.”

“Peter has been teaching me since September 2010. I am retired and have played in groups for many years but with no teacher for the last 30 years and not much before that. He listened carefully to what I asked him to help me with and was in no way dogmatic about imposing any particular method on me. He corrected several long standing bad habits relating to the way I held instrument and bow. He is refreshingly candid about some of the difficulties of technique that I worried about, showing me that the problem I thought was a fault in me was actually a challenge that all viola players have to deal with. He now has me going up to the higher positions with more confidence, and is working on my fear of having to read the treble clef when it is necessary. For the first time in my life I now enjoy practising. He is a personable, talented yet modest young man, who takes his music career seriously, and his obligations to pupils. He has never cancelled a lesson, nor been late for a lesson in spite of having to travel some distance to my house. I would heartily recommend him to any pupil, whatever their age.”

“Peter teaches piano to my three children aged 9, 10 and 12, and was more than happy to accommodate the eldest who wanted to study jazz rather than classical piano. Peter teaches in a way that encourages the children to consider all aspects of music; not just to look at a page of music and thump out the notes. The children think he is great which is obviously an excellent recommendation.”

“I chose Peter as a teacher having had a break from lessons for twenty five years. Although I took grade 7 at the age of eighteen, I had developed a lot of bad habits, casually dipping in and out of playing over that period of time. I find lessons with Peter fascinating. He is exacting about technique and has taught me fundamental things about playing that I don’t remember being taught, or understanding before. He has a gentle manner and explains things very clearly. I would highly recommend him as a teacher, to a beginner or an advanced player.”

“As an adult beginner on viola, I was rather apprehensive about going back to music lessons and starting a new instrument. As a teacher, I knew how my very apprehensiveness had the potential to get in the way of both learning and enjoyment. However I’ve found that in the time I’ve been Peter’s student, my fears have melted away. I really enjoy lessons, even though I’m being pushed to do my very best. Peter combines rigorous teaching and high expectations with a real gift for calming nerves and instilling confidence. I feel I’m being expected to meet exacting standards, but that he’s giving me the tools to progress and learn happily. He’s a very good diagnostician, analysing why a particular passage or technique is causing a problem and coming up with solutions appropriate for the individual, and he creates a learning environment in which it’s safe to ask questions. Very importantly, he doesn’t see himself as solely teaching an instrument, but teaching music, and I’ve found my understanding and love of music has grown in myriad ways since I’ve been studying with him: it has been a deeply rewarding experience. I started out thinking I would give viola a six-month trial, but wondered whether I’d even be able to last that long. Now I can’t imagine wanting to stop, and feel very fortunate to have found such a gifted and encouraging teacher.”

“This was an outstanding lesson which embraced a multitude of skills and concepts. The pupil was extremely well engaged and there were very welcome elements both prepared and unprepared. There was an impressive flexibility of approach.”