Peter Saltzman

Peter Saltzman

Salt Muse, Inc.
Music Composer, Author, Playwright, Singer, Songwriter and Screenwriter

Chicago, Illinois

Member Since:
March 2012
Last online:
> 2 weeks ago
Invites sent:
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About Peter

It started at age 4, seated at the piano. A single note that moved and morphed through the years, becoming Peter’s unique musical language. His organic fusion of qualities—the distinctiveness and improvisation of jazz, the soul of blues, and the compositional technique of Bach, Beethoven, and other classical composers—led to an emergence of new sounds, a new feel, a new purpose.

Peter’s broad career in the music industry as composer, pianist, singer-songwriter, and entrepreneur started as a budding teenage jazz musician in Chicago. He studied jazz at the Bloom School of Jazz (Chicago, IL), majored in jazz at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), and majored in composition and piano at Eastman School of Music (Rochester NY). Later, he studied film scoring at UCLA-Extension (Los Angeles, CA).

In 2016, Peter’s music hit a major turning point. He developed a hybrid platform—an album-ebook—to showcase his latest musical endeavor within his memoir. "Blues, Preludes & Feuds, A Musical Memory" is a seamless blend of original solo piano music and story with deep technology-art interactions. The music skillfully wends around the narrative, telling the story in its own way. The memoir is a funny, reflective tale of growing up in the politically charged times of 1960s Chicago as Peter journeys to discover his musical language.

Over his career, Peter’s prolific musical work has run the gamut—solo piano, orchestral, chamber, theatrical/film, choral, pop. Various ensembles have performed and recorded his work globally—the Czech National Symphony Orchestra recorded his orchestral dance suite “Walls” (1996), and the Dallas Black Dance Theatre performed “Walls” during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Peter’s concert work is published by Oxford University Press; his film and television work is published by Wild Whirled Music. His music has been licensed for television shows, jingles, and industrials, including "My Name is Earl" (NBC, 2006).
In the mid-to-late 90s, Peter led the Revolution Ensemble, a group that broke new ground with its adventurous mix of jazz, classical, Latin, and pop genres. Since 2001, he has headed the Peter Saltzman Band as lead singer, pianist, songwriter/arranger—and produced CDs/demos for Chicago-area artists.

From 2006 to 2014, Peter was an adjunct professor of music at the Columbia College Chicago, where he developed and taught a series of courses entitled “Technology for Musicians” and taught piano and theory.

Unique traits: World-class composer and pianist. And a helluva writer too!

Certifications

Loglines

  • 2099

    2099 Sci-fi Musical In a world controlled by humanoid AIs, human government underlings discover that their enclosed techno-utopian city conceals a climate apocalypse outside. But exposing the truth will hasten humanity’s demise.

Credits

  • 2099

    2099 (2022)
    Television by Salt Muse Inc Writer, Composer

  • White Nights

    White Nights (2005)
    Film (Drama) Music department Add a Plot »

  • Alien Abduction

    Alien Abduction (2005)
    Film (Horror, Sci-Fi and Thriller) Composer After being abducted by extra terrestrials, Jean and her friends are committed to a top secret government run mental institution to undergo tests and be brainwashed.

Awards

  • Illinois Arts Council SAG Grant
    (2006)

  • Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Award in Composition
    (2001)

  • Commission by Chicago Humanities Festival
    (1999)

  • City Award from City of Chicago
    (1995)

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