Phil Petershas been the director of the Valley High School orchestra program since August 1995 after teaching in Baltimore for ten years.  Mr. Peters earned his Bachelor’s degree in music education from Towson University in Maryland and a Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music of Johns Hopkins University.  Mr. Peters has completed additional graduate courses at the University of North Texas, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Drake University. He has performed as a double bassist with the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra and in many other local ensembles.  Mr. Peters was the director of the orchestra program at the National High School Music Institute at Northwestern University from 1998-2010. Ensembles directed by Mr. Peters have earned superior ratings at state contests in Maryland and Iowa and former students have been accepted into prestigious music schools around the country. Mr. Peters received National Board Certification, received a Japan Fulbright Scholarship to study the culture and educational system of Japan, and participated in a National Endowment for the Humanities program in Vienna, Austria studying the operas of Mozart. 

 

Mr. Peters’ work with the Valley High School Orchestra includes prior collaborations with the Vocal music program on productions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute (1997), Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana(1999). Other collaborations include working with the School of Classical Ballet and Dance on performances of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasonsand Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lakeas well as recent work with The Opera Project Des Moines to produce Puccini’s Suor Angelica(2016) and last year’s production of Cavalleria Rusticana.