Nicholas Parle is Professor of Harpsichord at the Hochschule für Musik and Theater in Leipzig, and also teaches at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Born in Australia, after obtaining his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Sydney, he moved to London where he has since worked with many of the leading early music orchestras. In 1989 he won the first prize in the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges, Belgium, at that time only the third time in 30 years that a first prize had been awarded.