Peter
Mathews was born in 1944 in Vancouver, British Columbia and
studied violin and piano under the Toronto Conservatory system.
He received a Licentiate Diploma in Piano Performance at
the Royal Academy of Music—London, and an undergraduate
music degree at Andrews University in Michigan. His graduate
studies have included both a Master of Music and Doctor of
Musical Arts in conducting from the University of Missouri
at Kansas City where he worked with Eph Ehly.
Since 1994 as a founding member and Artistic Director of the Central Florida
choral ensemble, Orlando XIII, his combined talents as composer, conductor,
and singer have proved to be invaluable to "one of the most exciting
music groups in Central Florida" (The Arts Connection, WMFE-FM).
In 1997 Orlando XIII included a premiere of the Mathews motet, A Prayer,
as a part of their first appearance on the Choral Artists’ Series of the
Piccolo Spoleto Festival held annually in Charleston, South Carolina. The Charleston Post
and Courier declared the debut "spectacular" and the ensemble
has now appeared at the Festival for four consecutive years.
From
1984 to 1997 Dr. Mathews was the conductor of The Orlando
Singers (first established as the Florida Hospital Chorus)
which developed a significant choral reputation in Central
Florida. He also conducts church choirs, teaches piano, and
has served as composer-in-residence to several churches while
serving as a staff singer. In 1998-99 the Music Department
of Stetson University requested Dr. Mathews’ assistance
and expertise as a faculty member in the areas of theory
and ear training. Since 1999 he has served as Choirmaster
for St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in DeLand, Florida.
Increasingly
in demand as a conductor and workshop clinician, Dr. Mathews
and his work were represented at the 1993 Southeast Regional
Convention of the American Guild of Organists. The 1994 Episcopal
Diocese of Central Florida Choir Festival also featured the
composer in this dual capacity. In 1999 Dr. Mathews was awarded
the anthem commission for the 49th Annual Sewanee Church
Music Conference, long recognized for excellence by the Episcopal
Church Standing Commission on Church Music. In January 2000
he conducted two commissioned choral premieres at St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church—Augusta, Georgia as part of their 250th
anniversary celebration.
Commissioned works of Peter Mathews continue to gain exposure through live
performance and compact disc projects for the choirs of Edith Ho (Church of
the Advent—Boston) and Anton Armstrong (St. Olaf College). The 1994 Florida
All-State High School Chorus, Boston’s Youth Pro Musica, DePauw University,
St. Olaf College, and Stetson University have included works of Peter Mathews
in their choirs’ concerts and tours. His liturgical music was featured
in June 2000 at the Regional Convention of the National Association of Pastoral
Musicians held in Orlando, Florida.
Dr. Mathews has written over 160 compositions of which over 75 are published
by Alliance, Choristers Guild, H.W. Gray, Kjos, Lawson-Gould, Lorenz, MorningStar,
St. James Press, and Southern. While composing music for worship, his commissions
also have included art songs and chamber music with voice and instruments in
varying combinations. A list of these publications is available upon request.
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