Mitchell peters biography

After graduating Eastman in , he served as timpanist with the 7th U. Army Symphony Orchestra. He was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany and traveled throughout Europe to perform.

Mitchell peters biography

The Dallas Symphony was a part-time orchestra which led Mr. During this time, he also performed with the Dallas Summer Musicals and at a popular local nightclub. In addition to his musical accomplishments, Mr. Peters was a wonderful and loving father who cared deeply for his family. He was twice married and divorced. In a letter to Mr. Percussive Arts Society E.

Michigan St. Discovery Center Temporarily Closed while establishing new location. I still get chills every time I listen to that. That recording is also a favorite of drummers around the world. I learned so much from studying his recorded performance with Bernstein and the L. Phil, that I always think of him whenever I play the piece.

Mitch was truly one of the great percussionists and gentlemen of our time. In addition to numerous orchestral recordings by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Peters can be heard playing timpani on soundtracks for the movie The Year We Make Contact , as well as the original television series Battlestar Galactica. In , he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sabian cymbal company.

That same year, after 37 seasons with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as both a percussionist and timpanist, Mitch Peters retired from the daily rigors of being an orchestral musician, but he continued to teach—and to play. The next morning at a. I told him it was two pages of quarter notes played on a piece of pipe with two ballpeen hammers, and that he could sight-read it.

He even went so far as to say that if all jobs were like that, he might not have retired from playing so early. Peters also wrote two volumes of Stick Control for the Drum Set. The etudes from his snare drum books have been performed thousands of times in auditions and recitals by high school and college students. Even the simplest pieces offer opportunities for phrasing and thoughtful playing.

His etude books progress naturally and in a way that is challenging enough to be satisfying, without being frustrating. In addition to his busy performing schedule, Peters always maintained a private studio, teaching students young and old. One such student was Ruth Komanoff Underwood, a retired professional percussionist who gained national attention as a mallet percussionist with Frank Zappa.

Someone who was outrageous as a classical player, but yet refined and musical in the so-called wild genres. He was not judgmental, regardless of the genre, but helped you achieve your musical goals. I only had eight lessons with him, but he made a profound impression on me. After a year of declining health, Peters died on October 28, , at the age of In a newspaper article announcing his death, symphonic conductor James Touchi-Peters - who was also Peters' cousin- was quoted as saying, "It's not an exaggeration to say that Mitch Peters was among the dozen best timpanists in the world.

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