|
The American lutenist, guitarist and song-writer, Peter Croton, began as a child of 6 performing as a folk guitarist and singer. His musical roots in folk and jazz music were supplemented by formal studies of lute and classical guitar with Dr. Loris Chobanian at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA), and with Eugen M. Dombois and Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. His expressive guitar and lute playing, as well as his original compositions reflect these multifaceted influences. In 1984 he won first prize at the "Erwin Bodky" competition for Early Music in Boston, and has also won prizes at the international lute competition "Guitar '84" in Toronto and at the international competition "Concert Artists' Guild" in New York City.
Peter Croton is an active performer in Europe and the USA as soloist and chamber musician, in styles ranging from Renaissance to folk music. He has performed and recorded with Theresia Bothe, Derek Lee Ragin, Susanne Rydén, René Jacobs, Andreas Scholl, Guillemette Laurens, and Nigel Rogers, among others. He has appeared at international festivals including: Rheingau Musik Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Festspiele Europäische Wochen Passau, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Staufener Musikwoche, Innsbrucker Festwochen der alten Musik, Niedersächsische Musiktage, Mosel Festwochen, Kultursommer Nordhessen, Les Arts Jaillissants - Savoie, Festival des Cordes Sensibles, Early Music Vancouver and Early Music Guild Seattle.
Since 1984 Peter Croton has been involved in numerous CD, television and radio productions as soloist and chamber musician (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Virgin, Channel Classics, Guild, Musicaphon, Balance and Proprius). His newest CD, Bach on the Italian Lute , has been released by Guild.
Peter Croton teaches lute, guitar continuo & historical performance practice at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and at the Conservatories of Music in Basel and Bern, Switzerland. He presently lives in Switzerland.
His original music ranges from modern lute songs to songs in a folk/pop/jazz style. In 2001 six of his compositions were published by the German Lute Society, and his tutor, "Figured Bass on the Classical Guitar" has recently been published by Amadeus in Switzerland. He has also recorded and performed new works written for the lute by Gwyneth Walker and Loris Chobanian. Four new settings of texts by William Shakespeare for lute and voice have been published by Tree Edition. |
