JOSEPH PETERS ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

The Lizette T. Dunham Chair

The Bruce and Margaret King Chair

Joseph Peters first conducted the North Carolina Symphony in 2019. A frequent conductor of education, Summerfest, and Pops programs, he conducted the North Carolina Symphony in a classical performance in October 2023. In addition, he is Associate Principal Oboe and English Horn with the North Carolina Symphony.

Joseph Peters is Music Director of the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, Missouri, and serves on the conducting staff of Triangle Youth Philharmonic and as interim conductor of the Raleigh Civic Chamber Orchestra. He was previously Music Director of the SUNY Buffalo State Philharmonia Orchestra and the Saybrook College Orchestra of Yale University. He is a frequent guest at the New World Symphony, where he has led diverse programs including children’s concerts, chamber opera, and a collaboration with the Miami City Ballet.

Long committed to teaching, Peters was the oboe and conducting instructor at the SoBe Institute of the Arts and conducted side-by-side concerts for New World Symphony’s MusicLab program.

Before joining the North Carolina Symphony, Peters held Principal Oboe chairs with the Minnesota Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as guest principal with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra, and for three years, he was a member of the New World Symphony.

Peters first played with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 18, performing Mozart’s Oboe Concerto. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and New World Symphony, as well as the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, of which he is an alumnus. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree from Yale University.

Joseph Peters, Associate Principal Oboe and English horn with the North Carolina Symphony, previously held Principal Oboe chairs with the Minnesota Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as guest principal with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Florida Orchestra, and he has also played with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Marlboro Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, National Repertory Orchestra, and the National Orchestral Institute. For three years, he was a member of the New World Symphony in Florida.

Peters first played with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 18, performing Mozart’s Oboe Concerto, and he has also appeared as a soloist with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, and Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies, of which he is an alumnus.

Also active as a conductor, Peters conducts the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, Missouri. He was music director of the SUNY Buffalo State Philharmonia Orchestra and the Saybrook College Orchestra of Yale University. He has led a variety of programs at the New World Symphony, including a collaboration with the Miami City Ballet, and he recently conducted a performance of Henze’s Kammermusik 1958 at Marlboro Music Festival. His conducting mentors include Michael Tilson Thomas, James Patrick Miller, and Toshiyuki Shimada.

Peters, who has long been committed to teaching, was the oboe and conducting instructor at the SoBe Institute of the Arts, and he conducted side-by-side concerts for New World Symphony’s MusicLab program. An advocate of contemporary music, he premiered Aaron Jay Kernis’ On Distant Shores with New York’s RIOULT Dance Company, and he has been involved in numerous other premieres by composers including Jocelyn Hagen, Polina Nazaykinskaya, and Samuel Carl Adams.

Peters received a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in music from Yale University. His teachers include John Snow, Stephen Taylor, Julie Madura, and Marilyn Zupnik.