Biography and Personal Statement

Peter Michalove has written for a wide range of musical media, including orchestra, concert band, and chorus, as well as a variety of vocal and instrumental chamber ensembles. His music draws on varied strands of the western tradition, combining often familiar rhythmic and melodic gestures in unfamiliar contexts and combinations.

He studied with Roger Hannay at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (B.M. 1972); and George Balch Wilson and Eugene Kurtz at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (M.M. 1973). In 1977 he earned a D.M.A. at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying with Salvatore Martirano and Ben Johnston. In 1976 he was one of three composers commissioned by the Eastern Music Festival to write an orchestral work (“Circles and Squares”) to commemorate the American Bicentennial. After finishing his formal musical education, he left music until after his retirement in 2006, resuming composition in 2007 with a new maturity and deeper outlook. He served on the board of directors of the Prairie Ensemble in 2009-2010.

Michalove is committed to continuing education in music; he has lectured and taught courses on Beethoven, Stravinsky, the elements of music, opera, the Beethoven string quartets, and the variation form at the University of Illinois’ Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.