Peter John Stoltzman Bio (updated Spring 2015)
In the summer of 2012, Peter was hired to be the head of the piano program at the
University of Colorado Denver, where he is now also the Co-Director of the Summer
Music Industry Program for 14-18 year-olds. Recent highlights include touring
Japan and recording with drummer Steve Gadd, bassist Eddie Gomez and marimba
virtuoso Mika Yoshida. Peter has two releases on Blue Canoe Records - with the jazz
quintet, The New Five (2009), and the Ron Westray/Thomas Heflin project
(2010). Peter has independently released a 3-CD package of all original music (a
finalist for the 2005 Independent Music Awards), a solo piano CD and a CD of piano
and clarinet repertoire with his father, Richard Stoltzman. His first trio record,
“Walk the Path,” was released in 2009 to rave reviews in Austin. Peter’s trio
released “Live at Casa Karen” on Bus Biscuit Records in 2013.
Peter has performed at the Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall, and venues around
the globe, with luminaries such as Bob Moses, Yosvanny Terry, Julian Lage, and Tia
Fuller. Peter and his father, have been featured on WNYC, Sirius Satellite Radio,
NPR, and CBS Sunday Morning. Peter’s piano playing and arrangements also are
featured on his father’s BMG Japan releases, “Bach Fantasies and Variations” and
“Lamento,” and published in the Richard Stoltzman Songbook (Carl Fischer, 2002).
As a teacher, Peter has been a regular on the faculty at the Stanford Jazz
Workshop since 1997. From 2011-13, Peter was the SJW Faculty Director, and in
2014 he became the Co-Director of SJW’s prestigious Mentor Fellowship Program.
He has developed after-school programs to teach music fundamentals and
improvisation to children, and led Young Audiences programs with his world music
group, Samadhi. In 2009, Peter led the music component of Austin's Leadership
Enrichment through the Arts Program. Peter has given jazz masterclasses around
the country and on tour in Italy and Japan.
A student of Joanne Brackeen, Charlie Banacos and Bob Brookmeyer (and many
others), Peter graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Performance from Berklee
College of Music in 1999. After Berklee, Peter lived in New York City, where he
recorded and performed with an eclectic variety of artists including drummer
Deantoni Parks and Kudu, rapper Jah Dan and Noble Society, guitarist John Shannon
and Waking Vision, American Music Award-winning funk band The Bomb Squad,
and singer Javier Colon. In 2004, Peter earned his Master’s Degree in Jazz
Composition with Academic Honors and Distinction in Performance, along with a
Concentration in Music in Education from New England Conservatory. In 2010,
Peter won first prize in the Philips Jazz Piano Competition. Peter took a full-time
teaching position at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2011-2012 before moving
to Denver. He lives in Denver with his wife, Gray, and their two young sons. Peter
completed his DMA in Music and Human Learning from the University of Texas in
May, 2014.
www.peterjohnstoltzman.com