Peter Zay

Peter Zay’s musical achievements have taken him to concert halls throughout the United States, Europe and Central America. Peter Zay is a member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Hartford Symphony Chamber Orchestra. He performs regularly with many organizations including the Boston Lyric Opera, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra and the American Sinfonietta.As a member of the American Sinfonietta, he has spent the last seven summers performing at the Bellingham Festival of Music. He has joined the Sinfonietta on several tours throughout Europe and recorded with them on the Natural Soundfields label.

Mr. Zay has distinguished himself as an accomplished chamber musician. Recently he performed with the Jaspus Piano Trio for concerts throughout the northeast and in Spain. He is a regular member of the International Musical Arts Institute summer chamber music concerts in Fryeburg, Maine. He has performed at the Wintergreen Summer Music Festival in Virginia and the Western Washington University Chamber Music Institute. Other festivals to his credit include the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival and the Taos Chamber Music festival. In addition to his chamber music appearances, Mr. Zay performs frequently in recital with pianist Anne Chamberlain.

This past season, he pursued his interest in new music by recording four Sonatas for Cello and Piano by Boston composer Arthur Goodridge. He gave the world premier performance of these works at Pickman Concert Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Zay also premiered his own composition for Violin, Cello, and Voice at the Kaji Aso Studio in Boston while working in collaboration with Haiku poets Raffael de Gruttola and Tadashi Kondo.

Mr. Zay began studying cello with his mother at the age of seven. He went on to study with David Wells as a full scholarship recipient at the Hartt School of Music where he earned his Bachelor of Music. He received his Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of David Geber. His teachers and coaches have included members of the American, Emerson and Muir String Quartets, and the Beaux Arts Trio.