Oscar Perks

Oscar Perks is a violinist, chamber musician, and educator affiliated with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (Chamber Music department) and the Yehudi Menuhin School. He holds the position of Classical Improvisation Coach at Guildhall and violin instructor at Menuhin.

His educational background includes foundational studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School, undergraduate music studies at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (specializing in composition under Robin Holloway), and a master's degree from the Royal College of Music with Lutsia Ibragimova.

Perks' research and performance interests center on classical improvisation, string quartet repertoire, and chamber music pedagogy. His career highlights include extensive work on unpublished C.V. Stanford quartets and direction of the Langvad Jamboree Chamber Music Festival in Denmark.

He maintains active performance partnerships, notably a duo with his wife Ayaka Shigeno following his five-year tenure (until 2019) as violinist with the Dante String Quartet, where he performed complete Beethoven and Shostakovich cycles internationally.

Perks directs the annual Langvad Jamboree Chamber Music Festival at Kirsten Kjaers Museum in Denmark, demonstrating ongoing leadership in chamber music community development and educational programming.