Biography: background

Peter is currently preparing his cello concerto (soloist: Matthew Barley) commissioned by the Northern Sinfonia, which he will also conduct in March 2008 at The Sage, Gateshead. His last work, He is Armoured Without was a huge success at the 2007 Proms on Brass Day, for the BBC Philharmonic, soloists Torbjorn Hultmark (trumpet), David Purser (trombone), musicians from Uzbekistan, Cold Stream Guards, plus 100 more brass players.

Recent works include:

The Great Wheel, Parts 1, 2 and 3 London Sinfonietta and musicians from Uzbekistan, Glasgow/ London (2003), That man's talking nonsense Stephen Gutman and Richard Benjafield London (2003), Brief Encounter National Opera Studio/ Southbank Sinfonia London (2004), Farewells take place in silence Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Birmingham (2004) the burden'd air for cello (Matthew Barley) and live electronics, (2006) at St Luke’s, LSO as part of the iF festival which also saw Peter direct cho cho for Japanese ensemble Tozai mixing trad and modern instruments (2006).

Ensembles and orchestras Peter has worked with since 2002 include the London Sinfonietta, bcmg, Endymion Ensemble, Northern Sinfonia and Southbank Sinfonia. He directed The Northern Sinfonia in a new work by Piers Hellawell at the inaugural weekend of The Sage, Gateshead. He has also conducted at home and internationally for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Joensuu Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia and Orchestra Camarata Labacensis, Slovenia. Peter opened the Cologne Triannual Festival in 2007, with a performance of Berio's Accordo.

Peter Wiegold has also been a regular conductor of the Composers' Ensemble, most recently at The Royal Academy of Art in a concert for artist Tom Phillips (2006) and in Dartington, Brighton, Bath, Oxford, Darmstadt, Salzburg, Holland and Macedonia.  In the summer of 2002 he directed the Composers Ensemble in a Proms Portrait of Pierre Boulez in the presence of the composer.

He is co-Artistic Director (with Colin Riley) of iF, a radical London Festival of new music and is Professor, Head of Music Research, at Brunel University.

He led an extended project with bcmg mixing improvisation, realisation and composition. This culminated in the opening concert of their 2004-5 season Invisible Cities which received outstanding reviews.