Peter Prommel, Faculty

Peter Prommel studied in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and at Oberlin Conservatory in the USA. He studied marimba with Leigh Howard Stevens and Keiko Abe. Praise for his marimba playing came with the honor “Laureate of the Concertgebouw and the Concertgebouw Orchestra,” and a prize in the “Gaudeamus International Interpreters Competition.”

Prommel has been a featured soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. His performance on the CD of the live-recorded TV production of Jonathan Harvey’s Percussion Concerto (which features the marimba and vibraphone) is legendary. He also performs the concertos of Darius Milhaud, Peter Eötvös and Joseph Schwantner. He played for ten years (until 1991) with the Percussion Group Amsterdam as a percussionist, composer and conductor. Since 2005, he is also active as a conductor of ensembles.

Peter has taught marimba and percussion at the Conservatory of Amsterdam since 1987. Since 1999, he has taught percussion, timpani and ensembles at the Hochschule für Musik in Detmold (Germany). He plays “fun-programs” with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble all over the world. He was a member of the jury of the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Competition, the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg, and the Hummelstiftung Percussion Competition in München.

In 2005, he started a project to investgate new teaching methods and new curriculums for conservatory percussion and marimba students. This coincides with the European changes to the Bachelor/Master structure and necessary new curriculums, and has precipitated many visits to conservatories and music schools around the world.