Charles S. Peters

Charles Peters was born in Joliet, Illinois, on July 24, 1913. He was appointed by the Board of School Inspectors of the Joliet Public Schools on October 14, 1942, as director of the Championship Joliet Grade School Band.

Mr. Peters received his earliest musical training from the late Professor Thompson, then supervisor of the Joliet Public Schools. At the age of nine, he undertook the study of the cornet under Mrs. Jessie Fields, a pupil of H. A. Vandercook, who founded the famous Vandercook School of Music. Mr. Peters was a member of the Joliet Grade School and Joliet Township High School Concert Bands. Later he played professional trumpet for radio stations WLS and NBC, Chicago.

Further musical training was reseived from Vandercook School of Music, Chicago, the Chicago Symphony School of Music, and the Roosevelt College of Music. He received his academic training from Joliet public grade schools, Joliet Township High School, Joliet Junior College, Western State Teachers College of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Roosevelt College, Chicago, Illinois.

From 1936 to 1938, he was supervisor of instrumental music in the public schools of Tinley Park, Illinois, and director of the Frankfort Community Band at Frankfort, Illinois. From 1938 to 1942 he conducted the Crete high school bands, Crete, Illinois. It was with this band that the name of Charles S. Peters became synonymous with school bands. Crete became the state champion of Class "C" high schools.

Mr. Peters has appeared as speaker, soloist, adjudicator, and guest conductor in nearly every state of the union. His bands have played many times for state and national Music Educators Conference meetings.

This is the biography which was printed in the yearbook pages year after year from at least 1952 through 1956. Author unknown.