Somerset Peede

Somerset is a distinguished violist and well sought-after teacher. Hailed by reviewers as “exemplary no matter the music” (Nightshift Magazine) and a performer who truly “had fun” on stage (The Greenwood Commonwealth), Somerset thrives in both solo and ensemble settings. She has performed with a variety of organizations (ex. London Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Ballet, Tennessee Philharmonic, Middleburg Film Festival) and venues worldwide (Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, Barbican Centre, Charterhouse Chapel, Zionskirche, Oxford University). In addition to the well-known classics, Somerset is an avid performer of new music and has given more than a dozen world premieres. She has also commissioned/collaborated on numerous chamber works and solo pieces for viola.

Somerset graduated from the Blair School of Music (Vanderbilt University, USA) with a Bachelor of Music Performance & Highest Honors in Musicology, and completed her Master in Orchestral Artistry at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in partnership with the London
Symphony Orchestra (London, UK). She is currently pursuing her second postgraduate degree with Roger Benedict at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. 

 

Somerset is well adept at instructing students of all ages and finds great joy in helping them discover or pursue their passion for music. With years of experience in teaching both violin and viola, her students have gone on to receive exceptional marks in regionally and nationally recognised platforms. Her teaching philosophy emphasises both well-known pedagogical frameworks and the development of students’ independent problem-solving, thus teaching students how to become their “own teachers” as they mature on their musical journey.