Neal Peres Da Costa

Who is Neal Peres Da Costa?

Neal Peres Da Costa is an Australian harpsichordist, fortepianist and organist. He specialises in performance on historical keyboard instruments of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, for which he has gained international renown. He is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Early Music Unit at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music at the University of Sydney.

Neal Peres Da Costa was born in Bahrain, then part of the Trucial States, to parents from Goa, India. His family moved to Australia when he was five years old. After graduating from the University of Sydney, Peres Da Costa attained a Postgraduate Diploma in Early Music from the Guildhall School of Music and a Master in Music Performance from the City University London. In 2002, he attained a PhD from the University of Leeds, where he researched performing practices in late 19th-century piano playing with particular reference to early recordings.

He spent ten years as Professor of Fortepiano at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he was also a Lecturer in Performance Practice. He also held the post of Lecturer in 19th-Century Performing Practice for the Masters Degree at Trinity College of Music in London. In 2000 Peres Da Costa was Artist in Residence at Bretton Hall College at the University of Leeds. For many years he has been Professor on the annual International Summer Course in Spain held by the Fundacio ‘la Caixa’ and is currently a chamber music teacher at the annual International Early Music Course in Urbino in Italy. He has also taught on the Early Music Summer Course in Southern Bohemia.