Welcome to the Peter Bassano web site

I am descended from a family of six Venetian musician brothers brought to England by King Henry VIII in 1540 to improve musical life at the English Court. In every generation since Tudor times there have been Bassano musicians. It might be argued that we are the oldest active musical family in the world.

I studied trombone and singing at the Royal College of Music, where after many years as a member of London's Philharmonia Orchestra I was appointed a professor and became a staff conductor and Head of Brass Faculty in 1990, a post I held until August 2004.

Throughout my career I have worked as both conductor and performer, interspersed with periods of study with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Elgar Howarth, Sir Charles Mackerras, Jorma Panula and Bramwell Tovey. I am Music Director of the Oxford University Sinfonietta, The Virtuosi of the Mannheim Court, The Gentlemen of the Chappell, The Equale Baroque Players, Wendover Choral Society, City of Cambridge Band and Oxford Touring Opera. I have appeared as guest conductor with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Royal Omani Symphony, Royal Philharmonic as well as at many conservatoires, choirs and bands around the world.

I hope you enjoy looking around this Web site.

Peter Bassano FRCM HonRCM

Click the family moth to hear Bassano conducting the Gentlemen of the Chappell and His Majesties Sagbutts and Cornetts performing Giovanni Gabrieli's Omnes Gentes from the CD Venice Preserved...

...or click this one to hear Bassano conducting Ida Falk Winland with the Virtuosi of the Mannheim Court in Mozart's Laudamus te from the Mass in C minor.