Pete is a cellist, sitarist and vocalist from a family of travelling Showpeople. While his
grandfather was the last Yelding to live on the road, Pete continues the family’s trade of
performing into its 7th generation! He fell in love with the cello aged 4, after a chance
introduction at nursery. Growing up, his mother – an illustrator and artist – took him in an
illustrated caravan to small fairs, camps and festivals, where he would meet and play with
musicians from every continent. This gave him the grounding for his musical life today.

At the beginning of his cello and composition studies at Birmingham Conservatoire, Pete took
a short course in sitar. He found Hindustani music resonated like no other art form and was
hooked. Alongside his numerous creative projects, he practised sitar for 10 years, receiving
training from Jonathan Mayer of the Senia veen-kar Gharana and playing weddings and
restaurants. During this time he also received vocal tuition from Rauf Saami and tuition in
string performance techniques from Gurbaksh Singh and Griots such as Juldeh Camara, Jally
Kebba Susso and Sura Susso – a friend since his teens. Then, in 2020, he travelled to Kolkata
to become student of legendary sarod player, Ustad Irfan Muhammad Khan of the Lucknow-
Shahjahanpur Gharana.

In recent years Pete has collaborated with artists such as Zinzi Minott, Mammal Hands, Iqbal
Khan, Talvin Singh, Sura Susso, Jonathan Mayer, & Shagufta Iqbal; and organisations such as
the Royal Shakespeare Company, Bristol Old Vic, Cape Farewell & Birmingham Rep.