Ptarmigan operated in Tallinn from 2011-2014. We no longer maintain any presence in Tallinn, but this website will continue to serve as an archive of the activities produced at Ptarmigan during these years.
Peter Nicholson is a cellist, improviser and composer living and working in Scotland. He is establishing a reputation as a musician who works across a wide spectrum of genres and forms and who brings together diverse elements of musical language.
Peter became interested in improvised music shortly after coming to Glasgow in 2002, when he played in a free improvising trio called the Age of Wire and String with Neil Davidson and Jamie Allen. Just after this he joined the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra with whom he still plays. Recently he has released a duo CD on the Iorram label with saxophonist Raymond MacDonald called ‘Street Level’. Peter has performed as in improviser in solo and small group contexts throughout Europe and the UK.
As a composer Peter has written music for The One Ensemble, a group he has played and toured with extensively since 2004. He also has a solo album called ‘Shutters Drawn’. The latter is comprised of both songs and multi-instrumental compositions. He is currently working on material for a new solo album.
As a cellist he is classically trained and has worked with various orchestras and ensembles including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra and with musicians such as Ravi Shankar and Kevin Ayres. In February 2010 he joined the Viridian String Quartet, ensemble in residence at the University of Glasgow.
Recent solo performances have included performances at Le Weekend Festival 2010 and at festivals in Paris, Lyon and Geneva and at the Avantgarde festival in northern Germany (www.avantgardefestival.de).
During a brief residency in Tallinn, Peter will perform and lead workshops in music improvisation.
