Peter Sykes, “a formidable organist who plays with artistry, subtlety, and insight,” is one of the most distinguished and versatile keyboard artists performing today. His live performances  have been called “compelling and moving,” “magnificent and revelatory,” and “bold, imaginative, and amazingly accurate” - his ten CDs of music for organ, harpsichord and clavichord ranging from Buxtehude to Couperin, Bach (complete Leipzig Chorales and harpsichord Partitas), Reger, and Hindemith to his groundbreaking transcription for organ of Holst’s “The Planets,” have been called “satisfying and persuasive,” “hauntingly beautiful,” and “simply stunning.” 

He has taught at the Longy School of Music, the New England Conservatory, and the University of Michigan, and currently teaches at The Juilliard School and Boston University. He has given numerous masterclass presentations across the US and in Europe, and has been on the judges’ panel of many competitions, including the Miami, Mader, Jurow, Montreal, and Longwood competitions. For the past thirty-nine years he has been Music Director of First Church in Cambridge, Congregational in Harvard Square, playing its 1972 Frobenius organ. He has received numerous prizes and awards for his achievements, including the New England Conservatory’s Chadwick Medal and Distinguished Alumni Award, the Erwin Bodky Prize for Early Music, and the St. Botolph Club Distinguished Artist Award, and is a founding board member and current president of the Boston Clavichord Society. 

 Current as of September 2024