Holman, Peter (1946– )

English harpsichordist, director, and writer. He studied at King's College, London, with Thurston Dart. He founded the early music group Ars Nova while still a student, co-founded with Roy Goodman the Parley of Instruments (1979), and gave many performances in the UK and Europe with Renaissance and early baroque string consort music. He was music director of Opera Restor'd from 1985, performing 18th-century English masques and operas in authentic style. He was professor at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and joint artistic director of the Boston Early Music Festival. Publications include The Violin at the English Court, 1540–1690 (1993) and a book on Purcell for the tercentenary (1995). His edition of Thomas Arne's Artaxerxes was performed in London under Roy Goodman in 1995.