Wayne Peterson

Wayne Peterson (b. 1927, Albert Lea, Minnesota) is a musical composer, pianist, and educator.

Peterson earned B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Minnesota. He did advanced study on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, London, England.

In 1960, he joined the faculty of San Francisco State University, reaching the rank of Professor of Music, from which he is now retired.

In 1992 the Pulitzer Prize for Music jury, which that year consisted of George Perle, Roger Reynolds, and Harvey Sollberger, selected Ralph Shapey's "Concerto Fantastique" for the award. However, the Pulitzer Board rejected that decision and chose to award the prize to the jury's second choice, which was Peterson's "The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark". The music jury responded in a public statement that they had not been consulted in that decision and that the Board was not professionally qualified to make such a decision. The Board responded that the "Pulitzers are enhanced by having, in addition to the professional's point of view, the layman's or consumer's point of view," and they did not rescind their decision. [http://www.american.edu/heintze/Pul1.htm]

Peterson's other honors include a Composer's Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1986) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1989-90).