lutenist - guitarist songwriter
He has performed and recorded with Theresia Bothe (www.bothecrotonduo.com), Derek Lee Ragin, Susanne Rydén, René Jacobs, Andreas Scholl, Guillemette Laurens, and Nigel Rogers, among others. He has appeared at the following international festivals: Rheingau Musik Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Festspiele Europäische Wochen Passau, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Staufener Musikwoche, Innsbrucker Festwochen der alten Musik, Niedersächsische Musiktage, Mosel Festwochen, Les Arts Jaillissants – Savoie, Festival des Cordes Sensibles, Early Music Vancouver, Early Music Guild Seattle, and others. "Peter Croton demonstrated effortless technical command and a high degree of refinement." Excerpts from reviews of CDs "...tantalizingly programmed and brilliantly executed." 
Peter Croton grew up in the USA and presently lives in Switzerland. He is an active performer in Europe and the U.S.A as soloist and chamber musician, in styles ranging from Renaissance to folk music. His original music ranges from modern lute songs to songs in a folk/pop/jazz style. He teaches lute, guitar continuo & historical performance practice at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and at the Conservatories of Music in Basel and Bern, Switzerland. His musical spectrum is, however, not limited to early music. As a child of six he began performing as a folk guitarist and singer. Peter’s musical roots in folk and jazz music were supplemented by formal studies of lute and classical guitar with Dr. Loris Chobanian at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA), and with Eugen Dombois and Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. His expressive guitar and lute playing, as well as his original compositions reflect these multifaceted influences.
In 1984 he won first prize at the "Erwin Bodky" competition for Early Music in Boston, and has also won prizes at the international lute competition "Guitar '84" in Toronto and at the international competition "Concert Artists' Guild" in New York City. Since 1984 he has been involved in numerous CD, television and radio productions as soloist and chamber musician (Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Virgin, Channel Classics, Musicaphon, Balance and Proprius).
In 2001 six of his compositions were published by the German Lute Society, and his tutor, "Figured Bass on the Classical Guitar" has recently been published by Amadeus in Switzerland. He has also recorded and performed new works written for the lute by Gwyneth Walker and Loris Chobanian.
Excerpts from reviews of concerts
The Boston Globe
"Croton played with an astonishing range of tone colors and dynamics. Also astonishing was the variety of expression, from lyrical intimacy to extroverted virtuosity of the highest level."
Nürnberger Nachrichten
"Croton demonstrated a high level of virtuosity and a well developed sense for exciting, dramatic playing."
Badische Zeitung
"His accompaniments were sensitive, and his solo performances were excitingly extravagant, especially the highly virtuoso Toccatas by Piccinini."
Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin)
"As well as providing Ragin with sensitive accompaniment, Croton demonstrated consummate musicianship as soloist, composer, and arranger."
The Georgia Straight (Vancouver, B.C.)
"Derek Lee Ragin’s accompanist was the equally renowned Peter Croton, who created a fine, almost orchestral texture. Croton played with great expression, variation and fluency."
Main-Echo (Würzburg)
Classic CD
"Peter Croton does not limit the expressive range of his instrument. The fantasies by Francesco da Milano sound unusually fresh and lively, and the works by John Dowland are perfect examples of imaginative and tastefully differentiated performances."
FonoForum
"The one common feature is Croton's excellent lute playing...he makes the most elaborate passages sound effortless"
Lute News (The Lute Society, London)
"Croton displayed his mastery of the lute with some very agile finger work and excellent projection of the themes in the contrapuntal sections, bringing out the interplay of the melodic lines with clarity."
The Recorder Magazine