A veteran brass specialist, he has conducted bands, choirs, and orchestras of all levels, notably the Lynden Choral Society, Skagit Opera, Cedar Park Assembly, Bethany Covenant Church, and Cascade Cantabile Choir. He currently conducts the Mt. Baker and Fidalgo Junior Symphonies, coaches the brass sections and manages the symphonies.
Conductor, Trumpeter, Brass Specialist
Mr. Peterson has taught all levels of Bands, at Northgate Christian School in Seattle, Mt. Vernon Christian School, Cedar Park Christian School, Whatcom Hills Waldorf School, and the Mt. Vernon Homeschool Learning Center (6 years).
For over 25 years (until Covid -19), he led the Junior Symphonies and Brass Choirs in the Sounds of Summer Music Festival, a symphonic, jazz, and choral performance training camp with professional faculty concerts. His private trumpet students have won State and National level awards and college scholarships, and many of the brass payers he has coached have been active in college and university brass ensembles across the USA, as well as notable symphony orchestras.
Mr. Peterson performs as First Trumpet with the Brass Menagerie Quintet, and instructs brass at the Peterson Conservatory in Mt. Vernon. He enjoys training these dedicated FYS and MBYS young musicians to perform together with technical excellence and musical expression. He trains and directs the Brass Choir, an innovative ensemble which often performs antiphonal music from the balconies of McIntyre Hall, on his own collection of herald trumpets. A frequent guest trumpeter in many venues, including recording studio engagements, he has soloed with the Skagit Symphony, and can be heard as First Trumpeter in the Starry Night Chamber Orchestra, concertizing throughout Northwest Washington.
Mr. Peterson is well known for his performances of Handel’s The Trumpet Shall Sound from The Messiah and he also performed the challenging first trumpet part for J.S. Bach B Minor Mass with the Northwest Community Chorale in Seattle, and was Music Director for the Northwest Theater Arts Guild’s productions of The Wizard of Oz, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Peter Pan at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham. Mr. Peterson conducted G. F. Handel’s The Messiah for Skagit Opera at the Lincoln Theatre in 2007.
In addition to his musical activities, Mr. Peterson is also an expert landscape professional, and enjoys cultivating vegetables from the Peterson garden.