One of the most active and versatile conductors in America today, Peter Eklund possesses a unique ability to work effectively with musicians at all levels of performing capability and experience. His concertizing/clinician schedule averages 60 national and international concerts annually and includes a wide array of professional, liturgical, festival, collegiate, and student ensembles throughout North America and Europe. Trained as a classical pianist and organist in the finest traditions of Western historical music, he now is also a strong advocate for ethnic and world music spanning all genres.
His academic choirs have performed on numerous American Choral Directors Association regional and national conventions where their frequency of performance set unprecedented national records. Eklund has conducted his choirs in many of the world's greatest performance venues including, Carnegie Hall, Washington DC's Kennedy Center, National Cathedral, and Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, Christ Church in Oxford, Mozart's Salzburg Cathedral (where he conducts yearly), Paris's Notre Dame (also conducting yearly), St. Stephen's in Vienna, St. John the Divine and Alice Tully Hall in NYC, and in other famous cathedrals, abbeys, and performance halls in New York, Chicago, London, Coventry, Canterbury, Chartres, Reims, Rouen, Mt St. Michel, Lucerne, Metz, Strasbourg, Paris, and Verona.Dr. Eklund studied conducting and score-study with Don V Moses, International Mahler Medal-winner James Dixon, and American Choral Directors Association past president (and University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumnus) William Hatcher. Current and recent engagements include conducting All-State choirs in Minnesota, Colorado, Indiana, South Dakota, Georgia, and Alabama, master classes and adjudicating/clinic work in Hawaii, California, Florida, Virginia, New York, Iowa, Arizona, Missouri, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Chicago, collaborating with NETV on a state-wide collegiate choral broadcast (nominated for regional Emmy), conducting a regional ACDA honor choir, and directing a summer youth honor choir trip to ten countries.
He divides his time among three roles: conductor, guest lecturer, and teacher/mentor (with numerous former students performing professionally on both US coasts: Broadway, Lincoln Center, TV, and Oscar winning movies - and everywhere in between), and is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he heads the Masters and Doctoral choral conducting programs, conducts the nationally recognized University Singers, and conducts the nationally renowned University of Nebraska Varsity Men's Chorus (both national MENC selected performance ensembles, the former in 2002 - Nashville and the latter in 2004 - Minneapolis). However, his greatest role of all is that of husband to Teresa and father of their four sons: Ben, Bryant, Brady and Brantley.
In his spare time, he is an occasional golfer (actually having scored a hole-in-one), and a reluctant but diligent gardener.
