The Peter Tranchell Foundation

photograph of Peter Tranchell

Peter Andrew Tranchell (aka "P.A.T."), 1922-1993, was a composer, Precentor of Gonville and Caius College, and Lecturer in Music at the University of Cambridge.

This website is authored and managed by The Peter Tranchell Foundation, and will be enhanced continually as material becomes available. Our aims are to make Peter Tranchell's music and writings available to a wide audience free or at minimal cost, to provide accurate information about his life and works, both musical and literary, and to maintain the site as a sustainable on-line resource for the future. Find out more about the website and the Peter Tranchell Foundation.

Making Tranchell's music available is time-consuming work, involving finding and researching the manuscripts, copying/scanning, transcribing into digital notation, proofreading and publishing. We welcome contributions of all kinds from anyone who knew PAT or who appreciates his music - find out how to donate. Or if you can contribute scores, recordings, anecdotes, writings, or time and expertise in any area, please contact us here.

Peter Tranchell Foundation Composition Prize & Concert

The Peter Tranchell Foundation Composition Prize from 2025 was awarded to Maho Ishizaka, for Tickle the Keys which will receive its première performance in the concert on Saturday 18th April 2026, St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge.

The concert programme also includes Peter Tranchell's comic operetta Twice a Kiss alongside entertaining works for piano, organ, and choir, with Piers Lane giving the première performance of Tranchell's Seven Pieces in Alphabetical Order.

Twice a Kiss concert - montage of performers: Piers Lane, Jennifer France, James Gilchrist, Hilary Summers, Henry Waddington, Sophie Bevan, Michael Papadopoulos, Christopher Purves — Clockwise from top-left: Sophie Bevan (© Sussie Ahlburg), Michael Papadopoulos, Jennifer France (© Nick Cutts), James Gilchrist (© Patrick Allen), Piers Lane (by Benjamin Ealovega), Henry Waddington (by Gerard Collett), Hilary Summers (by Claire Newman-Williams), Christopher Purves (by Chris Gloag)

Music

Tranchell's music, composed over a period of almost 60 years, covered many genres, from song cycles to psalms, and from organ sonatas to "detective cantatas". Find out more...

What's new

To find out about the activities of The Peter Tranchell Foundation, and what's been happening on the Peter Tranchell website, check out the site blog, our Facebook group, YouTube channel, and our posts on X, Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram.

Writings

Tranchell was a prolific writer of letters, reviews, verse etc. Find out more...

Calendar of performances

We maintain a calendar of performances of Peter Tranchell's music, both sacred and secular, when we know about them. Please do contact us with details of any that come to your attention.