
Matthew Peterson (born July 22, 1984) is a classical
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
of operas, choral works, orchestral and chamber music.
Biography
Matthew Peterson was born and raised in
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...
. He studied music composition at
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...
,
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...
and
Gotland School of Music Composition
{{no footnotes, date=August 2012
The Gotland School of Music Composition (sv. ''Gotlands tonsättarskola'') is a folk high school for musical Musical composition, composition based in Visby, Gotland. The school offers two educational programs Cour ...
where his teachers included
Mary Ellen Childs
Mary Ellen Childs (born April 13, 1957 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American composer and multimedia artist and founder of the ensemble Crash. She grew up as a dancer and writes music often influenced by dance rhythms. She currently administers t ...
and
Sven-David Sandström
Sven-David Sandström (30 October 1942, in Motala – 10 June 2019) was a Swedish classical composer of operas, oratorios, ballets, and choral works, as well as orchestral works.
Life and career
Sandström studied art history and musicology at ...
.
Peterson is a freelance composer based in
Smedjebacken,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, first arriving on a
Fulbright Award in 2008. His Fulbright project was the true-crime chamber opera ''Voir Dire'',
a work that received critical-acclaim after its 2017 world premiere at
Fort Worth Opera. He is a member of FST (the Association of Swedish Composers) and has been commissioned by Swedish musicians and ensembles including the
Swedish Radio Choir The Swedish Radio Choir is a professional choir. It is part of Sveriges Radio, the public radio broadcasting company of Sweden. The choir consists of 32 singers and their chorus master Marc Korovitch. Peter Dijkstra is the choir's most recent chief ...
, Dalasinfoniettan, guitarist
Mårten Falk,
Gustaf Sjökvist Chamber Choir,
Uppsala Vokalensemble,
Sofia Vokalensemble
Sofia Vokalensemble (often abbreviated as SOVE) is a mixed chamber choir based in the Sofia Church in the Sofia parish in Stockholm, Sweden. The choir in its present form was founded in 1995 by conductor Bengt Ollén who still leads the artistic ...
, and
Stockholm Saxophone Quartet
The Stockholm Saxophone Quartet (sv: Stockholms Saxofonkvartett) is a Swedish saxophone quartet dedicated to contemporary music. They have commissioned and performed more than 700 pieces written by some of the most established composers in the wo ...
. His music has been featured at international music festivals
Svensk Musikvår, Purpur (South Africa),
Ljudvågor, Lund Choral Festival, Jubilate and
Sound of Stockholm.
In 2014 Peterson was awarded the
ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
Rudolph Nissim Award for orchestral composition.
The same year he won both first prize and the audience/radio-listener's prize at the
Uppsala composer competition for ''And all the trees of the field will clap their hands'' for chamber orchestra,
and his true-crime opera ''Voir Dire'' was the winner of the
Fort Worth Opera Frontiers showcase for new opera.
In 2021 Peterson was awarded the first Sven-David Sandström Choral Composition Award from the
Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The Royal Academy also awarded him with th
2023 Carin Malmlöf-Forsslingcomposer prize.
Concert works
Peterson's music has been performed at venues across Europe and North America such as the
Kennedy Center,
Berwaldhallen,
Stockholms Konserthuset,
Minneapolis Orchestra Hall and
Gothenburg Konserthuset by ensembles including the
Swedish Radio Choir The Swedish Radio Choir is a professional choir. It is part of Sveriges Radio, the public radio broadcasting company of Sweden. The choir consists of 32 singers and their chorus master Marc Korovitch. Peter Dijkstra is the choir's most recent chief ...
,
Stockholm Saxophone Quartet
The Stockholm Saxophone Quartet (sv: Stockholms Saxofonkvartett) is a Swedish saxophone quartet dedicated to contemporary music. They have commissioned and performed more than 700 pieces written by some of the most established composers in the wo ...
,
Minnesota Orchestra
The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall.
History
Em ...
,
Washington National Opera,
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra,
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra,
VocalEssence,
Malmö Symphony,
Chanticleer,
Vanemuine Symphony,
Fort Worth Opera,
Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and others. His works are regularly performed on
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...
’s annual Christmas concerts.
Operas
''Voir Dire''
The courtroom opera ''Voir Dire'' is adapted from true-crime stories witnessed by librettist
Jason Zencka while he was court reporter for the ''
Stevens Point Journal.'' The 2017 world premiere production by
Fort Worth Opera received national critical acclaim. ''Opera Now'' called ''Voir Dire'' “startlingly immediate and journalistic in feel, made memorable by the depth and texture of the music.”
Heidi Waleson, in her review for
''The'' ''Wall Street Journal'', wrote: “The opera drills unsentimentally into the tragedies of ordinary people...its power lies in how believable their emotions are.”
''Lifeboat''
''Lifeboat'', an opera with libretto by
Emily Roller, is inspired by the
Syrian refugee crisis. A ''
John F Kennedy Center Commission'' for
Washington National Opera, it premiered January 14, 2017 at the Kennedy Center. ''Classical Voice America'' praised Peterson's “admirable mastery of both vocal writing and colorful orchestration,” and
Anne Midgette of the ''Washington Post'' wrote “''Lifeboat'' began dramatically with a storm scene, then moved onto the tranquility of the becalmed, focusing on three shipwreck survivors in a lifeboat, and culminating in a vocal trio that Peterson was able to make truly beautiful.”
''The Binding of Isaac''
Peterson's first opera, ''The Binding of Isaac'', is a modern retelling of the Biblical story of
Abraham, set in a religious-fundamentalist compound. This was Peterson's first collaboration with librettist and writer
Jason Zencka. It premiered at
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...
in 2006 and was awarded the 2007
BMI Student Composer Award The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 by executives of Broadcast Music Incorporated for the purpose of "encouraging the creation, performance and study of music through awards, scholarships, internships, grants, and c ...
.
Awards
* 2006
Chanticleer Student Composer Award for ''The Bedtime Prayer''
* 2007
BMI Student Composer Award The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 by executives of Broadcast Music Incorporated for the purpose of "encouraging the creation, performance and study of music through awards, scholarships, internships, grants, and c ...
for ''The Binding of Isaac''
* 2008
Fulbright Grant to Sweden
* 2010
BMI Student Composer Award The BMI Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 by executives of Broadcast Music Incorporated for the purpose of "encouraging the creation, performance and study of music through awards, scholarships, internships, grants, and c ...
for ''Reflections on the Death of the Beloved''
* 2010 Vista Award for New Opera for ''Voir Dire''
* 2014
ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize for ''Hyperborea''
* 2014 First Prize in
Uppsala Composers Competition for ''And all the trees of the field will clap their hands''
* 2014
Fort Worth Opera Frontiers Prize for ''Voir Dire''
* 2015
Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute for ''Hyperborea''
* 2016
Washington National Opera ''John F. Kennedy Center Commission'' for ''Lifeboat''
* 2018 Washington International Competition for Composition for ''November (pas de deux)''
* 2021 Dalecarlia Music Awards "Classical of the Year"
* 2021 Sven-David Sandström Choral Composition Award
Recordings
* ''Cantate Domino'' on album ''In Paradisum'' (2019, Footprint) with
Sofia Vokalensemble
Sofia Vokalensemble (often abbreviated as SOVE) is a mixed chamber choir based in the Sofia Church in the Sofia parish in Stockholm, Sweden. The choir in its present form was founded in 1995 by conductor Bengt Ollén who still leads the artistic ...
* ''Ljusfälten'' on album ''Fields of Lights'' (2020, Footprint) with Uppsala Vokalensemble
* ''VOIR DIRE: a courtroom opera'' (2020, RedHouse) original cast recording
* ''Smooth Fat Nasty: Matthew Peterson - the saxophone works'' (2021) with
Stockholm Saxophone Quartet
The Stockholm Saxophone Quartet (sv: Stockholms Saxofonkvartett) is a Swedish saxophone quartet dedicated to contemporary music. They have commissioned and performed more than 700 pieces written by some of the most established composers in the wo ...
Works
Symphonies
*''Symphony No. 1: The Singing Wilderness'' (2021)
Operas
* ''The Binding of Isaac'', chamber opera for four singers and seven instruments, libretto by Jason Zencka (2006)
* ''Voir Dire'', chamber opera for five singers and nine players, libretto by Jason Zencka (2016)
* ''Lifeboat'', chamber opera for soprano, mezzo, baritone and chamber orchestra, libretto by Emily Roller (2016)
Orchestral works
* ''Reflections on the Death of the Beloved'' for band (2009)
* ''Icumen'' for orchestra (2011)
* ''Hyperborea'' for orchestra (2011)
* ''Dawn: Redeeming, Radiant'' for orchestra (2012)
* ''And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands'' for chamber orchestra (2013)
* ''Corde Natus'' for orchestra (2014)
* ''Tumult and Flood'' for chamber orchestra (2015)
* ''Newborn Glimmer'' for orchestra (2019)
* ''The Loons of Lac La Croix'' for orchestra (2020)
* ''Symphony No. 1: The Singing Wilderness'' (2021)
* ''The Way of a Canoe'' for orchestra (2021)
* ''Aurora'' for orchestra (2022)
* ''Four Northern Visions'' for orchestra (2022)
Choral works
* ''The Bedtime Prayer'' for SATB choir a cappella (2004)
* ''Miserere Mei'' for SATB a cappella (2006)
* ''Surgit Dorpatum'' SSAA a cappella (2015)
* ''Lux Aeterna'' for double SATB choir a cappella (2017)
* ''Ljusfälten'' for SATB a cappella (2018) to six poems of
Edith Södergran
* ''Sommar i bergen'' for SATB and nyckelharpa (2018) to poem by
Edith Södergran
* ''Cantate Domino'' for SATB (2018)
* ''Adoramus Te'' for SMATBB (2018)
* ''Ave Maris Stella'' motet for SSAATTBB (2018)
* ''And Lo, A Great Multitude'' for double SATB choir a cappella (2020)
* ''Non Nobis'' for SATB choir a cappella (2020)
* ''Salve Regina'' for SMATBB (2020)
* ''In the Beginning'' for SATB and saxophone quartet (2020)
* ''Behold I make all things new'' for SATB choir a cappella (2021)
* ''An Inner Sky'' for SATB to three poems by
E. E. Cummings (2022)
* ''l(a leaf falls)onliness'' to poem of
E. E. Cummings (2022)
* ''! o(rounD)moon'' to poem of
E. E. Cummings (2022)
* ''brIght'' to poem of
E. E. Cummings (2022)
Solo works
* ''kick'' for percussion (2009)
* ''Bound and Unbound'' for piano (2011)
* ''Huldra'' for marimba (2014)
* ''smooth fat nasty'' for baritone saxophone (2017)
* ''Peregrinations'' for guitar (2017)
* ''Koraconnes'' for cello (2019)
* ''The baddest girl on the mountain'' for alto saxophone (2019)
* ''polska plska pla'' for piano (2019)
* ''Laud'' for organ (2020)
* ''To the Firmament'' for organ (2020)
* ''Shamans of the Digital Wasteland'' for frame drum and electronics (2021)
Chamber music
* ''Brutal Music'' for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass (2010)
* ''Thunderheads'' for 2 percussionists (2011)
* ''Empire Builder'' for flute, piano, violin (2012)
* ''Mass'' for soprano and percussion (2012)
* ''Badlands'' for string quartet (2013)
* ''January'' for string trio (2016)
* ''Vingar, Virvlar'' for soprano and tenor saxophone (2018)
* ''Dance Party Playlist'' for saxophone quartet (2019)
* ''Lament for Sven-David Sandström'' for saxophone quartet (2020)
Electronic music
* ''Horizons'' (2011)
* ''Rain Dances'' (2012)
* ''Shamans of the Digital Wasteland'' for frame drum and electronics (2021)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Matthew
1984 births
21st-century American classical composers
American classical composers
American opera composers
Choral composers
Jacobs School of Music alumni
Living people
American male opera composers
Musicians from North Dakota
Musicians from Stockholm
People from Grand Forks, North Dakota
St. Olaf College alumni
21st-century American male musicians
American emigrants to Sweden