Peter Oakes is from Birmingham and it was there that he enjoyed his early musical experiences. Orchestral music soon became a favourite and Peter took up the double bass. Four years playing in the National Youth Orchestra was a treat, and, during a Festival of Youth Orchestras from across the world, Peter was chosen to play in the International Festival Youth Orchestra that opened the Edinburgh Festival in 1978.

Peter read Maths at Imperial College London and then trained as a Maths teacher at Cambridge University, where he played in the university chamber orchestra and sang in the chamber choir. After periods teaching Maths, and playing the bass – with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields and London Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others – he completed a Music degree as an external student of London University. He has taught Music at The Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester since 1999.

In recent years, Peter has been delighted to focus more on playing the piano, especially in the wonderfully rich repertoire for piano trio and piano quartet.