Vince Peterson, Founder and Artistic Director
Vince Peterson’s “insatiable curiosity and devotion to healthy exploration” have made him one of the most versatile choral directors of his generation. The New York Times called him “authoritative beyond his years” and The Brooklyn Eagle praised him for performing with “depth and vigor”, “providing a universal context that resonated with his audience”, and described his concert programming as a “stunning symphony of the spiritual and secular”.
Born in San Francisco, Peterson studied piano from age 6 and organ from age 11. In 2003, he completed a BMus in Composition at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of celebrated composer Conrad Susa, also studying with David Conte and Eleanor Armer. He relocated to New York City in 2005, and received a double MM in Composition and Choral Conducting from Mannes College of Music, studying under David Loeb and Mark Shapiro, respectively. Upon graduation from Mannes, he was the sole recipient of its 2007 Music Teachers League Award. He has also studied composition and conducting abroad in Paris, at La Schola Cantorum and L’École Normale de Musique, through the European American Musical Alliance.
Peterson is sought after as conductor, pianist, and composer. Commissioners and distinguished performers of his work include Cantori New York, The Monmouth Civic Chorus, Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, The San Francisco Arts Education Project, and The De La Salle Institute, among others. The multi-Grammy® award winning ensemble, Chanticleer has commissioned his choral arrangements for three consecutive seasons, and has performed them worldwide. Through them, he is best known for his arrangements of “Cells Planets” (performed in Chicago Symphony Hall at ACDA National) and Freddy Mercury’s “Somebody to Love”. As singer and accompanist, he previously served Music Director, Joseph Jennings at The Golden Gate Men’s Chorus. He has traveled on tours to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, France, Canada, The Philippines, and throughout the United States.
He currently serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at Brooklyn College, having previously served for two years as its Interim Director of Choirs and Coordinator of Ear Training Studies. He also serves as Organist and Choirmaster of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Carroll Gardens. Additionally, he maintains a private teaching practice.
(Occasionally, he pawns himself off as a singer-songwriter and releases an album of brooding piano-pop / theater songs.)
Born in San Francisco, Peterson studied piano from age 6 and organ from age 11. In 2003, he completed a BMus in Composition at The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of celebrated composer Conrad Susa, also studying with David Conte and Eleanor Armer. He relocated to New York City in 2005, and received a double MM in Composition and Choral Conducting from Mannes College of Music, studying under David Loeb and Mark Shapiro, respectively. Upon graduation from Mannes, he was the sole recipient of its 2007 Music Teachers League Award. He has also studied composition and conducting abroad in Paris, at La Schola Cantorum and L’École Normale de Musique, through the European American Musical Alliance.
Peterson is sought after as conductor, pianist, and composer. Commissioners and distinguished performers of his work include Cantori New York, The Monmouth Civic Chorus, Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, The San Francisco Arts Education Project, and The De La Salle Institute, among others. The multi-Grammy® award winning ensemble, Chanticleer has commissioned his choral arrangements for three consecutive seasons, and has performed them worldwide. Through them, he is best known for his arrangements of “Cells Planets” (performed in Chicago Symphony Hall at ACDA National) and Freddy Mercury’s “Somebody to Love”. As singer and accompanist, he previously served Music Director, Joseph Jennings at The Golden Gate Men’s Chorus. He has traveled on tours to Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, France, Canada, The Philippines, and throughout the United States.
He currently serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at Brooklyn College, having previously served for two years as its Interim Director of Choirs and Coordinator of Ear Training Studies. He also serves as Organist and Choirmaster of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Carroll Gardens. Additionally, he maintains a private teaching practice.
(Occasionally, he pawns himself off as a singer-songwriter and releases an album of brooding piano-pop / theater songs.)
