For me, music is a living language of emotion, faith, and community. Whether at the console of a pipe organ, accompanying a singer, or composing a new piece, I aim to create moments that move people—moments that resonate long after the final chord fades. I’m drawn to the organ not only for its grandeur and complexity but for its ability to express the deepest shades of the human spirit. Through performance, teaching, and composition, I strive to keep this instrument alive in today’s world—inviting listeners to experience its power, color, and beauty in fresh and meaningful ways.

Organist Carillonneur Conductor Educator Music Director

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Biography

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Hunter Peterson is an organist, pianist, composer, carillonneur, and conductor dedicated to creating immersive and emotionally resonant musical experiences. Hunter serves as Director of Music and Organist at Trinity United Church of Christ, where he directs the adult vocal and handbell choirs as well as a children’s choir. A passionate collaborator, he regularly performs with instrumentalists and vocalists and was recently appointed as a member of the adjunct faculty of collaborative piano at Westminster College.

A prize-winning performer, Hunter earned first place in the 2023 Concerto and Aria Competition at Westminster College for his performance of Concerto in G Minor for Organ, Strings, and Timpani by Francis Poulenc. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, and the Warren Philharmonic Orchestra. His teachers have included Todd Wilson, Paula Kubik, Nancy DeSalvo (piano pedagogy), and Gerardo Teissonnière (piano). He has also studied voice with Susan Foster and William Ambert, conducting with Ryan Keeling and R. Tad Greig, and carillon with Paula Kubik at the Duff-Armington Memorial Carillon (Westminster College).

In addition to his work as a performer and church musician, Hunter is passionate about music education and movement-based learning. He has worked with both young students and collegiate-level musicians, using kinesthetic approaches to develop rhythm, coordination, and musical expression. He studied eurhythmics with Bryan Sweigart and Sonia Hu.

As a composer, Hunter studied with Daniel Perttu and writes music that blends emotional depth with rich harmonic color. His works include Trinity Evening Canticles, Op. 23, Soaring Free, Op. 16 for horn and piano, and Mass for the Lost Children, Op. 12 for orchestra and choir—a large-scale work honoring lives lost to gun violence in schools. He has also composed original scores for theatrical productions at Westminster College, where his creative voice was shaped through a deep engagement with text, drama, and sound.

Hunter’s conducting experience includes leading performances of Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten, and the U.K. premiere of Chris Massa’s Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night from An American Requiem.

A native of Pennsylvania, Hunter has served as Student Organist at Westminster College and Director of Music and Organist at First Presbyterian Church, where he founded the concert series Concerts Around the Casavant, celebrating the church’s historic 1956 Casavant Frères organ (Op. 2351). He has also taught organ and piano at the Warren County Summer Music School.

Hunter is deeply committed to the continued vitality of the organ through performance, education, and new composition. He strives to make every performance an immersive and transformative experience—one that connects audiences to the spiritual and emotional power of sound. He holds a Master of Music in Organ Performance with a concentration in eurhythmics from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance with a concentration in Composition from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

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