Peter Alexander

Composer/Lyricist/Dramatist/Song and Dance man, Peter Alexander comes to life through
music. From acting classes and workshops starting at the ripe age of 7, through opening night
of his first musical on his 37th birthday, Peter has engaged with life through theater.
During his early years Peter thought he would be an actor. In his middle teen years he
discovered a singing voice, and musical theater shortly thereafter. Imagine his parents’ “relief”
when he came home from High School one afternoon to announce that he would not study
drama at College after all, but music instead.

Peter earned his Bachelor of Arts in music theory from the University of California at
Santa Barbara. His music education includes more than 15 years of choral and small
ensemble singing; he has sung with Presbyterian and Catholic church choirs, the Portland
Gay Men’s Chorus, several ensembles at UCSB, and Voices of the Coming Tribe, - for
whom he has also served as accompanist. Peter currently sings with the
Paul Price Society Orchestra, which specializes in popular music of the early 20th century.
Outside of his UCSB degree Peter has studied voice privately with Janet Jean Motika,
Helen Dilworth, and Michael Smolens.

While Peter considers the voice his primary instrument, the piano is a very close second.
The piano is the sketchpad and playground on which Peter discovers and explores most
of his musical ideas. Since obtaining his University degree Peter has had the good fortune
to study piano with Lynn McConnahey, Jeffrey Payne, Michael Smolens, and continues to
refine his technique and musicality with Julia Hansen. Although most of Peter’s training as
a pianist has focused on classical piano literature, he is most comfortable with the piano as
an accompanying and storytelling instrument.

In 1997 Peter returned to musical theater as a performer in community theater productions
with Hillbarn Theater, Palo Alto Players, and Foothill College among others. His performance
credits include Man #2, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change; Steve, A Street Car
Named Desire; B.J., The 1940’s Radio Hour; Lewd Fingers, Angry Housewives; Mr. Rich,
Celebration; and Alex in the first staged reading of his own show, Can’t Say I Do.

Peter’s theatrical training also includes more than 20 years of dance experience. He has
studied Jazz, Tap, and Social Dance at the Portland School of Dance,
the Menlo Park Dance Academy, and Zohar School of Dance. For the past 8 years he has
kept his feet busy on the Country & Western dance floor as well.

Peter draws all of this experience together in order to write for the stage. His skill as a
composer and arranger has been further refined by 2 years of private study with Michael
Smolens. Additionally, as a member of the West Coast Songwriters (WCS), Peter has
attended several song and lyric writing workshops with various instructors, including
Steve Seskin. He enjoys participating in monthly works-in-progress sessions and has
performed occasionally at WSA open-mic events, where he has been awarded “best
performance.” But no class or seminar could teach what Peter has learned from the
4 – 5 years he has spent writing Can’t Say I Do - a 6-person chamber musical dramedy,
which has been described as “A musical Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner for the 21st century.”

During this project Peter has grown tremendously from the influence of his marvelous
collaborator, Kevin Yell (Acts of Salvation). He has also had the great fortune to consult
with OCT music director Darcy Danielson, Theaterworks dramaturg Vickie Rozell,
director/dramaturg Lenny Pinna, composer/ dramaturg Craig Bohmler (Enter the Gardsmen),
pianists, Daniel Lockart and Bob Sunshine, and Producer/Arranger, Jerramy Bassermann.
In this time Peter has mastered the notation program, Finale, and become quite adept as a
recording engineer. He finds the manipulation of midi data in Pro Tools an invaluable asset
in the process of composing and orchestral arranging.

In the past 5 years Peter has written more than 50 songs and musical numbers ranging in style
from country/pop through traditional musical theater including elements of barbershop and
blues to classical art songs. Peter has already begun work on his next musical,
In The Hands of the Raven, an exploration of fate and the all-too-human tendency to try
to avoid transformation.

Peter believes that the dark side of the theater is one of the most comfortable seats for
self-discovery. And self-discovery is the best pathway to a fully realized life.
As he once wrote in a sonnet, “where words leave off, there music doth begin.”