Peter Edwards is a British pianist, composer and band leader, who is musical director of

Tomorrow's Warriors Tomorrow's Warriors is a jazz music education and artist development organisation that was co-founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and Gary Crosby, committed to championing diversity, inclusion and equality across the arts through jazz, with a spec ...

' ensemble the Nu Civilisation Orchestra. He won the "Newcomer of the year" category of the 2015

Parliamentary Jazz Awards The Parliamentary Jazz Awards in the United Kingdom are organised by the All Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group (APPJAG) at the Houses of Parliament in London. The group consists of over a hundred members drawn from across the UK politica ...

, and was nominated for the 2015 Jazz FM "Breakthrough Artist" award."Peter Edwards"
Associate Educators – National Youth Jazz Orchestra. Edwards composes and arranges music for large ensembles as well as writing for his own Peter Edwards Trio, and artists he has worked with include Mica Paris,

Abram Wilson Abram Wilson (August 30, 1973 – June 9, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist raised in New Orleans and based in London where he also taught music in schools. Early life Wilson was born to Willie C. Wilson Jr and his wife Dor ...

Moses Boyd Moses Boyd (born 30 April 1991) is a British jazz drummer, composer, record producer, bandleader and radio host. His debut solo studio album ''Dark Matter'' (2020) was nominated for the 2020 Mercury Prize. In 2014, Boyd and saxophonist Binke ...

Nicola Emmanuelle Nicola Emmanuelle is an English jazz singer from London, England. Music career Emmanuelle was invited by composer George Fenton and Richard Attenborough to sing the opening score "Crossroads – a Dawn Raid" to the successful British film '' ...

and

Zara McFarlane Zara McFarlane is a British jazz/soul singer and songwriter, based in East London. In October 2014, McFarlane was awarded the title of "Best Jazz Act" at the MOBO Awards. She has had four albums released by Brownswood Recordings. Early life Zara ...

Career

Edwards earned a master's degree in Jazz from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2009. He participated in the

young artist development programme"About"
Peter Edwards Music. and in 2008 an orchestra was established initially to provide a platform for Edwards to recreate

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

's rarely performed ''The Queen's Suite''. The orchestra was subsequently established as a permanent ensemble called the Nu Civilisation Orchestra (NCO), under the musical direction of Edwards. The NCO has performed at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, and the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

. In 2014, he released his first album with the Peter Edwards Trio, ''Safe And Sound'', which jazz critic John Fordham as "guileless and soulful", and which was listed by '' MOJO Magazine'' among the top 10 jazz albums of the year. It was followed in 2016 by ''A Matter of Instinct''.Roger Farbey
"The Peter Edwards Trio: A Matter Of Instinct"
AllAboutJazz, 20 May 2016. The group performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival and the recorded performance was later broadcast on BBC Radio's ''Jazz on 3'' and on Jamie Cullum's

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

programme. Edwards made his BBC Proms conducting debut in 2019 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

performing the sacred music of Duke Ellington.Gareth Thomas
"BBC Proms 2019: Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music"
'' Jazz Journal'', 3 September 2019.

References

External links

Peter Edwards Music
Official website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Peter Alumni of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance 21st-century British conductors (music) British male conductors (music) British jazz pianists Date of birth missing (living people) Living people Year of birth missing (living people) British bandleaders Tomorrow's Warriors alumni