Peadar Townsend began studying violin at the age of four.  He later augmented his performance skills in the areas of percussion and piano.  In 1993 he graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England with honours, as well as a Professional Performance Diploma with distinction in 1997.

In 1996 Peadar was awarded top prize in the state broadcasters’ Young Musician competition going on to perform Rodney Bennett’s Percussion Concerto with the RTE Concert Orchestra.

While living in England Peadar played with many of the country’s top orchestras,  including the Halle Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the Liverpool Philharmonic. Living in Ireland since 1999, Peadar has performed with all the major orchestras in Ireland, including the NSO and RTE Concert Orchestras and the Irish Chamber Orchestra as well as numerous contemporary groups.  He recently performed as an orchestral member at the Wexford Opera Festival and Anna Livia Dublin International Opera Festival.

As well as classical music, Peadar has an enviable resumé of mainstream shows and studio work.  He has played on the U.K. tours of ‘Riverdance,’ ‘Miss Saigon,’ ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Les Miserables,’ while his studio credits include albums with ‘The Corrs’, ‘Westlife,’ ‘Aslan’ and ‘Tommy Fleming’.

Peadar Townsend recently completed his Masters in Composition at the National University of Ireland Maynooth, receiving a first class honours.  His epic orchestral work ‘The Battle for Brosna’ was premiered to critical acclaim in Texas in September 2007.  Peadar is also a graduate of the Screen Training Ireland/UCLA program in film scoring, and his score for the Irish Film, ‘The Dancehall Bitch’ was completed as part of the internationally renowned "Moonstone International" film project in 2006.

This rising star in Irish composition has also been commissioned for a wide range of new works including works for Wind Trio, Trombone Quintet, Solo Trumpet, and Choir and Orchestra. His specially commissioned work ‘Joy of Youth’ was performed by the combined Dublin Youth Orchestras as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations in the National Concert Hall, Dublin in January 2007.

Future commissions include new works for Brass Ensemble, Trombone Octet, Solo Euphonium and Brass Band and a large Wind Orchestra work.