(b. 28 December 1959, Winnipeg, Manitoba).
Canadian composer of mostly stage, orchestral, chamber, and vocal works that have been performed in the Americas.
Mr. Peters studied composition with John Eaton at Indiana University in Bloomington from 1981–87, where he earned his MMus and DMus.
Among his honours are the Major Arts Grant from the Manitoba Arts Council (1994) and the Artist of the Year Award from the Canadian Opera Company (1999, shared with the creative team of The Golden Ass). He has received commissions from the Canadian Opera Company, the Eesti Filharmoonia Kammerkoor – Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Hannaford Street Silver Band, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the Penderecki String Quartet, trombonist Alain Trudel, the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
He is also active in other positions. He served as composer-in-residence to the Canadian Opera Company from 1990–93. He later served as composer-in-residence to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra from 1996–2001 and as organiser of its New Music Festival from 1996–2001.
In addition to the works listed below, he has composed incidental music for many stage productions.
SELECT LIST OF WORKS (note that the date refers to the year of première)
STAGE:
Nosferatu (opera, libretto by Maer Powell), 12 soloists, small orchestra (17 players), fixed media, 1993 (also concert version of themes as Paradoxes of the Heart, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion, string orchestra; one section may be performed separately as a concert work: Camilla's Lament)
The Golden Ass (opera, libretto by Robertson Davies), soprano, mezzo-soprano, 2 tenors, 2 baritones, bass-baritone, bass, 7 dancers, mixed chorus, orchestra, 1999
Inanna's Journey (opera, libretto by Margaret Atwood), 2009 (one section may be performed separately as a concert work: City of Dust)
ORCHESTRAL:
Dreaming-tracks, orchestra, fixed media, 1991
Paradoxes of the Heart, 3 trombones, tuba, percussion, string orchestra, 1992, revised 2000 (concert version of themes from Nosferatu)
The ADVENTURES of PianoWoman!® (concerto), piano, orchestra, 1994
Tango, string orchestra, 1997 (version of work for string quartet)
The Orpheus Interludes, 1997
The Seven Gates of Kur (concerto), trombone, brass band, 2000
Concerto for Orchestra, 2001
Butterfly Wings and Tropical Storms, 2002
Concerto, violin, orchestra, 2007
Io, 2011
CHAMBER MUSIC:
Three quarks for Muster Mark!, soprano saxophone (+ alto saxophone), baritone saxophone, piano, 1990 (also version for flute [+ piccolo], cello, piano, 1990)
Tango, string quartet, 1991 (also version for string orchestra)
Juggernaut, amplified string quartet, fixed media, 1993
What If?, piano, string quartet, 2009
CHORAL:
Keys to the Unseen (text by Sir Salman Rushdie), children's chorus, mixed chorus, organ, percussion, string orchestra, 1999
City of Dust, soprano, mixed chorus, large orchestra, 2004 (section of Inanna's Journey; may be performed separately as a concert work)
VOCAL:
Camilla's Lament, soprano, piano, synthesizer, vibraphone, 1994 (section of Nosferatu; may be performed separately as a concert work)
Survivors (text from the Mass), mezzo-soprano, string quartet, 1994
Looking for the Harmonies (vocalise), mezzo-soprano, flute, clarinet, bassoon, 2 guitars, double bass, piano, accordion, percussion, 1996
Lost Things, mezzo-soprano, baritone, bassoon, piano, 2012
PIANO:
Meditation and Celebration, 1982
FILM SCORES (DIRECTOR):
In the Fall, 1984 (Allan Kroeker)
Crime Wave, 1985 (John Paizs)
Cages, 1985 (Michael J. F. Scott)
Carried Away, 1985 (animation; Vonnie von Helmolt, Alan Pakarnyk)
Places Not Our Own, 1986 (Derek Mazur)
Mr. Nobody, 1987 (Lyn Wright)
The Old Believers, 1988 (John Paskievich)
A House Divided: Caregiver Stress and Elder Abuse, 1988 (Lyn Wright)
Kamik, 1989 (Elise Swerhone)
Smoked Lizard Lips, 1991 (M. B. Duggan)
The True Story of Linda M., 1995 (Norma Bailey)
Edge of Madness, 2002 (Anne Wheeler)
The Pacifist Who Went to War, 2002 (David Neufeld)
TV PRODUCTIONS (DIRECTOR):
Capital, 1981 (Allan Kroeker; collaboration with Dan Donahue)
The Prodigal, 1983 (Allan Kroeker)
Tramp at the Door, 1985 (Allan Kroeker)
St. Nicholas and the Children, 1988 (George Bloomfield)
Now and Then, 1989 (Elise Swerhone; collaboration with Pierre Guérin)
Welcome Home Hero, 1990 (Nancy Trites-Botkin)
Dance to Remember, 1990 (Nancy Trites-Botkin)
Lost in the Barrens, 1990 (Michael J. F. Scott)
Lost in the Barrens II: The Curse of the Viking Grave, 1991 (Michael J. F. Scott)
The Diviners, 1993 (Anne Wheeler)
Heck's Way Home, 1995 (Michael J. F. Scott)
My Life as a Dog, 1995–96 (various)
For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down, 1996 (Norma Bailey)
Me, My Brother and My Father's Van Gogh, 2000 (Elise Swerhone)
The Atwood Stories, 2003 (various)
Cowboys and Indians: The J. J. Harper Story, 2003 (Norma Bailey)