Peter Underhill is a composer & pianist from Eastern Washington whose work uses creative constraint techniques to arrive at surprising yet organic musical materials. He started composing in middle school as an antidote to boredom and found his interest in constraint techniques and computer-assisted composition after reading too many books on the history of mathematics. Along the way, Peter discovered the literary works of writers such as Georges Perec, Douglas Hofstadter, and Mark Z. Danielewski – all of whom have shaped his thinking about musical constraints, creativity, and aesthetics.
Peter studied composition and piano performance at Whitworth University before completing his master’s studies in composition at the University of South Carolina. He is currently earning a DMA in composition at the University of Georgia. He has presented his work at the highSCORE Festival in Pavia, Italy and has collaborated with the Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective, the University of South Carolina Wind Ensemble, Anna Piroli, the Duende Quartet, and the Whitworth Symphony Orchestra. He currently studies composition at UGA with Dr. Emily Koh. At USC, he studied with John Fitz Rogers, Fang Man, David Kirkland Garner, and Reginald Bain, and at Whitworth University, he studied composition with Brent Edstrom and piano with Judith Schoepflin and Greg Presley.
Peter enjoys the music of Thomas Adès, Brooke Waggoner, Kaija Saariaho, Hailaker, Toby Twining, and Madison Cunningham among many, many other composers and artists.
Peter A. Underhill 