ViVAldi - Naxos Music Library

26
Peter Whelan
bassoon
Peter Whelan is one of
Europe’s leading exponents
of historical and modern bassoon.
Originally from Dublin,
Ireland, he was appointed as
principal bassoon of the Scottish
Chamber Orchestra in
2008, having previously held
the position of principal bassoon
with Bournemouth Symphony
Orchestra (2003–8).
Peter has worked with
many of Europe’s finest orchestras,
among them the London
Philharmonic Orchestra,
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,
the Gustav Mahler
Chamber Orchestra, and Oper
Zürich. Equally at home on
historical instruments, he has
a diverse repertoire spanning
over four centuries and has
performed with many of the
world’s most distinguished baroque
specialists and period
ensembles, including Monica
Huggett, Alfredo Bernardini,
Marc Minkowski, Sir Simon
Rattle (with the Orchestra of
the Age of Enlightenment), the
English Concert, English
Baroque Soloists and Le Concert
d’Astrée.
As a concerto soloist, Peter
has appeared with Bach Consort
Wien, the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra, the National
Symphony Orchestra of Ireland,
and the Irish Baroque
Orchestra. In 2008, he toured
Mexico as soloist with La Serenissima.
Peter is also a keen
chamber musician performing
and broadcasting across the
EU. In 2007, he won both First
Prize and the Audience Prize
at the Bruges International
Musica Antiqua Competition
performing with the ensemble
Xacona.
Peter received his early
musical training in Ireland at
the Royal Irish Academy of
Music. After graduating from
Trinity College, Dublin, with a
first-class degree in music
(2000), Peter won a Swiss Government
Scholarship to study
with Professor Sergio Azzolini
at the Musik-Akademie der
Stadt Basel. Peter is now a
committed teacher in his own
right and has recently joined
the teaching faculty of the Royal
Scottish Academy of Music
and Drama, Glasgow.