Choral Music Innovator
When founding Choral Chameleon, his "shape-shifting choral ensemble" (Time Out New York) in New York City in 2008, Vince Peterson began a nearly 15-year dissertation on what choral music could be for the next generation of singers and listeners. Today, he still works within Choral Chameleon as well as in many other places to invest in the continuing evolution of the art form. He is responsible for over 200 premieres of new choral music, the founding of an annual institute for composers and conductors where he has guided 175+ students on their journeys to find their best musical selves, and he has been a devoted advocate for functional music used for humanitarian and social justice work in the communities he serves. He is one of fewer than 20 recipients of the prestigious Chorus America Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal, a lifetime distinction he shares with a small group of choral musicians who have shown forward-thinking in the choral art while also holding fast to the high priority of caring for singers as whole people. His work in these areas has been reviewed in major news outlets and other publications and has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, and The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, among others. The New York Times called Peterson "authoritative beyond his… years," and The Brooklyn Eagle praised his work as "a stunning symphony of the spiritual and secular," while hailing him as a solo performer "with depth and vigor" who "provided a universal context which resonated with his audience.”
Composer and Arranger
Trained formally and primarily as a composer, Vince Peterson has devoted the lion's share of his compositional output to choral music, both original and arrangements, chamber music, and musical theater. His catalogue comprises nearly 100 works and includes 8 commissions from the multi Grammy® award-winning ensemble, Chanticleer, a million+ views on YouTube, and performances in some of the world's greatest spaces.
Trusted Educator
For over 20 years, Vince has explored how to reframe traditional mindsets about music education for the modern era. No matter the setting: Pre-Kindergarten through Graduation School, Vince's work as a music pedagogue has always been aimed at bridging gaps between starkly opposed mindsets, embracing time-tested learning techniques, and helping musicians of all ages and stages of development to become their best musical selves.
