Somerset Peede

Somerset Peede is a distinguished violist and well sought-after teacher. She has performed with a variety of organisations (London Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Ballet, Sydney Philharmonia, Middleburg Film Festival) and at venues worldwide (Kennedy Center, Barbican Centre, Sydney Opera House, Zionskirche, Oxford University, Duomo di Orvieto). Somerset has also won chamber competitions with multiple ensembles and undertaken residencies in Berlin, Germany (Vanderbilt Musik Akademie 2019) and Orvieto, Italy (Quartet 121, Orvieto Musica/Sydney Eisteddfod Scholarship 2025). As a freelance musician, she performs in various capacities in the Sydney area, including at Trackdown Studios, where she records scores for video games, film, and tv.

 

Somerset graduated from the Blair School of Music (Vanderbilt University, USA) with a Bachelor of Music Performance & Highest Honors in Musicology, and completed her Masters in Orchestral Artistry (MMus) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in partnership with the London Symphony Orchestra (London, UK). She completed a second postgraduate degree in performance 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. 2026 marks her 10th year of teaching, and 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.