Peter Esswood

Peter Esswood is renowned for his contribution to String Pedagogy. He served as the Chair of the Management Committee of the European String Teachers Association from 2000-2004 and is now a member of the Central Board. His performance career as a cellist has included membership of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Opera House, as well as numerous solo and chamber recordings for TV and radio. Peter was previously Professor of Orchestral Training at the Royal College of Music, Junior Department. His work as a conductor, chamber music coach and adjudicator has received wide acclaim both in the UK and internationally.

Matthew Jones

Hailed by The Strad magazine as ‘a worthy successor to Lionel Tertis’, Matthew is violist of the Bridge Duo and the Debussy Ensemble. Recent recital and chamber music venues include London’s Wigmore Hall and South Bank, and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing; with duo partner Michael Hampton he made his critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2008. He was also a member of the Badke String Quartet when they won the 2007 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and performs regularly with Ensemble MidtVest in Denmark, an innovative ten-piece chamber ensemble whose work includes classical and contemporary performance and recordings, improvisation and collaborations with other art forms.

Matthew is professor of viola at Trinity College of Music, London, and professor of violin, viola and chamber music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and Charterhouse International Music Festival. He has recorded six CDs, including two Bridge Duo recordings of English music, one of Hilary Tann’s chamber music, one of Haflidi Hallgrimsson’s chamber works and most recently a Prokofiev disc for Naxos. Three more recordings for Naxos are planned for 2010-11. In February 2009 he gave the world premiere of Derek Ball’s Viola Concerto with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra; last season also saw concerto performances of Walton, Vaughan Williams and Berlioz.

Matthew was a guest performer at the 2008 Menuhin Violin Competition and has given masterclasses in the USA, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and throughout Europe. Through his long-term involvement with the ‘Live Music Now!’ and ‘Lost Chord’ schemes, Matthew remains committed to outreach and community work. In addition he is passionate about musical education for younger students through his work with such institutions as Pro Corda and Aldeburgh Young Musicians.