Martyn Shaw is a UK based flautist with a particular specialism in Baroque, Classical and ‘pre-Boehm’ nineteenth-century flutes. He is a leading authority in early nineteenth century flute performance practice, and has worked with many of the country’s leading period-instrument ensembles including The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Handel Orchestra, Armonico Consort, English Scholars, Ex Cathedra and Welsh Baroque. His recording ‘The Nicholsonian Effect’ (Omnibus Classics) features works for flute and piano from nineteenth-century England performed on period instruments. Martyn is also a qualified coach and mentor specialising in helping performing musicians with performance anxiety, nerves and skills in communication.

Martyn is a Principal Lecturer at Leeds Conservatoire, and was formerly Joint Head of Woodwind at Chetham’s School of Music. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and was subsequently awarded a double entrance scholarship by the Royal Academy of Music, where he completed a combined Masters programme in both modern and historical performance practices. Martyn studied with Edward Beckett, Lisa Beznosiuk, Rachel Brown, Sam Coles, Michael Cox, Kate Hill, Paul Edmund-Davies, Stephen Preston, Averil Williams and Trevor Wye.

 In 2014 Martyn completed a PhD in early nineteenth-century performance practice at the University of Birmingham. His doctoral research uniquely assesses the interrelationship which existed between performance, pedagogy and instrumental design in the work of Charles Nicholson (1795-1837), and represents the first significant study of tone-colour, vibrato and flute portamento within the performance practices of the period.