The Britten–Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies was founded in 1977 in

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, Suffolk, following the success both of the master classes held for singers by Peter Pears from 1972, and of the subsequent courses for string players. The School grew to offer a varied programme of practical and academic courses for young musicians and singers at the start of their professional career. Master classes have been taught by such distinguished visiting faculty members as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf,

Murray Perahia Murray David Perahia () (born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Kno ...

and Pierre Fournier. The successor of the school, the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme, continues to provide training for outstanding young professionals from around the world and also manages courses for the Britten-Pears Orchestra, formerly The Snape Maltings Training Orchestra. The contemporary composition and performance course was founded by Oliver Knussen and Colin Matthews in 1992. More recently there has been in addition a digital media course, called New Music/New Media. In September 2012, the course was led by

Rolf Wallin Rolf Wallin (born 7 September 1957) is a Norwegian composer, trumpeter and avant-garde performance artist. Biography Wallin was born in Oslo, where he studied with Finn Mortensen and Olav Anton Thommessen. He later studied at the University of Ca ...

Tansy Davies Tansy Davies (born 29 May 1973, Bristol) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. She won the BBC Young Composers' Competition in 1996 and has written works for ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Or ...

, and Alexander Refsum Jensenius, co-founder of the Oslo Laptop Orchestra. String quartets come together each spring and present a weekly recital of "work-in-progress" at the Jubilee Hall, and in late summer the International Academy of String Quartets provides further opportunities for working on repertoire. Menahem Pressler,

Pierre-Laurent Aimard Pierre-Laurent Aimard (born 9 September 1957) is a French pianist. Biography Aimard was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio. In 1973, he was awarded the chamber music priz ...

and the

Arditti Quartet The Arditti Quartet is a string quartet founded in 1974 and led by the British violinist Irvine Arditti. The quartet is a globally recognized promoter of contemporary classical music and has a reputation for having a very wide repertoire. T ...

have all taught masterclasses.

References

External links

Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme

Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Britten-Pears School for Advanced Musical Studies 1977 establishments in the United Kingdom Private schools in Suffolk Music education in the United Kingdom