John Thwaites

John Thwaites is a Professor and Head of Piano at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, part of Birmingham City University. He also serves as Head of Keyboard Studies and Course Director of the Cadenza International Summer Music School. His career spans decades of collaborative performances with acclaimed musicians such as Alexander Baillie and Johannes Goritzki, and he is a founder member of the Primrose Piano Quartet. The Quartet has commissioned and recorded works by notable composers like Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Sally Beamish, with recordings featured on BBC Radio Three and other international platforms.

Thwaites' research focuses on Brahms' chamber music symbolism and historically informed performance practices, alongside British Chamber Music. He has performed at major festivals and concert halls globally, including the West Meon Festival, and has directed thematic festivals such as those dedicated to Delius, Bax, and Brahms at Birmingham Town Hall.

His teaching roles include former posts at institutions like the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is renowned for his pedagogical contributions to piano and chamber music, with a particular emphasis on bridging classical repertoire with modern performance techniques.