Barry G. Peters

Barry Peters is a native of Pennsylvania. After graduating high school in the Allentown, Pa. area, he attended Mansfield University where he received a B.S. in Music Education in 1970. He earned a M.M. in Music Education from Ithaca College in 1972.

Mr. Peters teaching career began in Troy, Pennsylvania in 1970 and he moved to New York where he taught in Hammondsport, Canandaigua, Liverpool, and Union Endicott until his retirement in 2002. He was the band director and marching band director in all of these schools. His bands performed at NYSSMA and New York State Field Band Association competitions along with many band pageants, college bowls, professional football games, and local competitions. His bands received numerous honors including many gold with distinction ratings from NYSSMA and two first place championships with NYSFBA. His private students performed in local all county, area all-state, and conference All-State ensembles. Many of his private students have gone on to teach, conduct and perform to this day.

Since 1997, Mr. Peters has been the conductor of the Binghamton Youth Symphony. The orchestra has been a featured performing ensemble at the NYSSMA Winter Conference. The ensemble has also played concerts in the Washington, D.C. and Boston areas. In addition, the orchestra has commissioned and premiered several works by local composers. The orchestra is seen on local TV during the holiday season.

His guest conducting experience has included many county, area all-state, and honor bands and orchestras in New York and Pennsylvania. He has also been a guest conductor at the Mansfield University Summer Music Camp, the Eastern U.S. Music Camp at Colgate University, and the New England Music Camp. He is currently serving as associate conductor of the Southern Tier Concert Band.

As a performer, Mr. Peters has performed as principal trumpet with the Corning Philharmonic and the Elmira Symphony. He currently performs in the Ithaca Concert Band, the Vestal Community Band and the Southern Tier Concert Band. He has also performed with the B.C. Pops, the Southern Tier Wind Ensemble, Downtown Singers Orchestra, European Brass, EPAC, Summer Savoyards Orchestra, Cider Mill, and several local big bands. He is also a frequent trumpet soloist for St. Patrick and St. Thomas churches in Binghamton, NY.

He has been a member of the New York State Band Directors Association Board of Directors, the

Mansfield University Alumni Board of Directors, the Binghamton Community Orchestra Board of

Directors, the Southern Tier Concert Band Board of Directors, the Binghamton Harmony Club Board, and the Executive Committee of the New York State Field Band Conference. He has been a certified NYSSMA adjudicator since 1978 and continues to serve as an adjudicator for numerous band and orchestra major organization and solo and ensemble festivals throughout New York. He also served as the marching band chairman for NYSSMA.

In 2005, The New York State Band Directors Association named Mr. Peters the recipient of their Outstanding Retired Band Director Award. This is an honor given to someone who has had a noteworthy career and continues to contribute to the band movement after retirement.

The Mansfield University Alumni Association honored him in 2010 by awarding him their Distinguished Educator Award. This is presented to a University graduate who has had outstanding acheivement in the field of education.

Since his public school retirement in 2002, Mr. Peters has served as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Music at Ithaca College where he continued to work until 2017. While at Ithaca, he supervised student teachers and also taught various classes in the music education department. He has also served and continues to serve as a guest clinician for bands and orchestras throughout New York State.

Presently, Mr. Peters lives in the town of Owego with his wife Joanne. His four children and two grandchildren continue to make his life busy and rewarding.