Download photos
As the winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards and the Christel DeHaan Fellowship of the American Pianists Association, Drew Petersen has been in the artistic spotlight since a very young age. He performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall at age five and at age 10 was featured in a New York Times article about child prodigies.
Drew has performed solo and concerto recitals in both Europe and the United States. He has been a top prizewinner in the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition, and the New York Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition.
Drew graduated cum laude from Harvard with bachelor of liberal arts in social science and did his undergraduate music studies at the Juilliard School with Jerome Lowenthal. He is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree in Music at Juilliard with Robert McDonald as a recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship.
Drew is a native of Oradell, NJ and continues to reside there, but enjoys exploring out-of-the-way spots in The Big Apple, including unique music venues and small, independent galleries. Of living outside NYC, he says, “I have my own piano to practice on, and it is a lot of fun to be around my family. Sometimes I literally will wake up 7 in the morning, run out of the house and not be back until midnight.”
He currently serves as Artist-in-Residence at University of Indianapolis and will continue that role for the next two years.
Five Things You Didn’t Know about Drew Petersen
- According to his mother, Drew didn’t speak until he was 3 1/2 .
- Drew is a former competitive swimmer and still enjoys long-distance (1- to 2-mile) swims.
- There’s some creative genes at the Petersen house … His brother is a theatre major at Fordham.
- His mother’s Armenian heritage has created a love for gathering with family and friends over Mediterranean flatbreads, olives and other delicious finger foods.
- Favorite foods? He’s adventurous, exploring what he calls “obscure Asian foods” like jellyfish and shark fin.