Student Profile

Joseph Donald Peterson

Joseph Donald Peterson is a violist, composer, and woodworker based in Northern California. He received his bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied viola with Samuel Rhodes and composition with Justin Dello Joio; additional mentors include music theorist Steven Laitz and violist Roger Tapping. While at Juilliard, Joseph placed second in the schoolwide viola concerto competition, contributed to the student-run newspaper The Citizen Penguin, and performed in both the AXIOM and New Juilliard new music ensembles as often as he was allowed; he also regularly premiered pieces composed by his fellow students.

Joseph received his master’s degree in music composition and theory from the University of California, Davis, where he is currently also pursuing a PhD. While in Davis, Joseph has had the opportunity to work with composers Laurie San Martin, Sam Nichols, and Mika Pelo. His music has been performed by the Empyrean Ensemble, Eclipse Quartet, and, after winning the UCDSO Composition Composition, the UCD Symphony Orchestra.

Besides music, Joseph is a serious woodworker, having completed both a violin-making apprenticeship with luthier William Bartruff and the nine-month program in fine furniture at The Krenov School. Joseph’s PhD work at the University of California, Davis is attempting to define an intersection between music and woodworking.

 

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