Peter Taylor, AGSM

Born in Belgium, yet trained at the Guildhall School of Music in London, and speaking  faultless English with hardly any accent, Peter has made it his life’s work to collect every piece of solo repertoire ever written for the viola. There is a real danger that, some day, he may succeed in this futile pursuit. However, he suspects a counter-movement has been launched (probably by the violinists) to frustrate his plans by secretly commissioning new works at regular intervals from modern composers. Fortunately, the viola reads in the terrifying Alto Clef which many composers cannot grasp (and a few viola players also), thus ruling out a large portion of them. It is worth noting that a significant majority of orchestral musicians firmly believe that if a composer is to be any good, then he should also be dead. Deceased composers are infinitely more revered than living ones. It is hoped that, this being so, contemporary composers should do the honourable thing, take the hint, and be prepared to lay down their lives for their art - hopefully, the sooner the better. Peter was once a member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, but defected to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; spending his first ten years living in a swamp outside Brecon. He now lives closer to Cardiff.