Peter Frewen marks his 22nd year as artistic director of the Oratorio Chorale in the 2007-2008 season.
Actively involved
in Maine's cultural blossoming over the past two decades, Frewen has earned
high regard from fellow musicians, reviewers and concert-goers alike for his
versatility in choral and orchestral directing.
Frewen was
appointed music director of the Oratorio Chorale in 1986. He also founded
the Maine Chamber ensemble, a professional chamber orchestra, in 1987.
Frewen's passionate
commitment to music extends well beyond the stage. As an educator, he served
as director of the chorale at Bowdoin College for three years. He has held
positions at the University of Maine at Farmington and the University of
Southern Maine.
He has been
actively involved in programming concerts that invite participation of
student musicians. He has mounted a full production of Britten's children's
opera, "Noye's Fludde," developed a "kinderconcert"
program, and presented numerous workshops, demonstrations and other programs
for K-12 students.
Frewen holds a
bachelor's degree from Pomona College, where he studied choral conducting
with William F. Russell. He holds master's degrees in music history from
Yale University and Queens College of the City University of New York. He
studied orchestral conducting with Jacques Louis Monod, former conductor of
the BBC Orchestra, and with Charles Bruck of Paris at Domaine School of
Music, also known as Pierre Monteux School for Conductors, in Hancock,
Maine.
