A versatile pianist, Peter Henderson is active as a performer in orchestral, chamber, and solo settings. Henderson is currently Associate Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence at Maryville University, where he has served on the faculty since 2005. Since 2015, Henderson has been the Principal Keyboardist of the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra. In September 2023, he began his tenure as Principal Keyboardist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO).
During January and February 2016, Henderson was the piano soloist in the SLSO’s California tour performances of Olivier Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles… (From the Canyons to the Stars…). Critics described him as a “powerhouse soloist” (San Francisco Chronicle) and praised his Messiaen playing for its “intense focus and thrilling vibrancy” (San Jose Mercury News). His most recent solo appearances with the SLSO, in March 2023, featured performances of Joseph Haydn’s Keyboard Concerto No. 11.
In addition to his regular ensemble performances with the SLSO, Henderson often delivers pre-concert lectures, introducing classical concert programs from Powell Hall’s stage.
Henderson’s discography includes collaborations with violinist David Halen, flutist Mark Sparks, bass trombonist Gerry Pagano, violist Jonathan Vinocour, and soprano Marlissa Hudson. His most recent solo album is A Celebration of African Composers for Piano (AMP AGCD 2706, released 2017).
Henderson also occasionally composes music and works as a recording producer. Rückblick (Looking Back), his song without words for trombone and piano, appears on Gerry Pagano’s album Solitude, released 2018. Printed and electronic editions of Rückblick were issued by Ascenda Music Publishing in January 2024.
Henderson holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University, Bloomington, where his main piano instructor was Dr. Karen Shaw; he had previously studied with Dr. Jay Mauchley at the University of Idaho, Moscow. Henderson and his wife Kristin Ahlstrom, the SLSO’s Associate Principal Second Violinist, live in St. Louis with their lively, sweet beagle/terrier-mix, Zinni.
Brief bio (220 words)
A versatile pianist, Peter Henderson is active as a performer in orchestral, chamber, and solo settings. Henderson is currently Associate Professor of Music and Artist-in-Residence at Maryville University, and Principal Keyboardist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and the Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra.
Henderson was the piano soloist in the SLSO’s February 2016 California tour performances of Olivier Messiaen’s Des Canyons aux étoiles… (From the Canyons to the Stars…); his Messiaen playing was lauded for its “intense focus and thrilling vibrancy” (San Jose Mercury News).
In addition to his regular ensemble performances with the SLSO, Henderson often delivers pre-concert lectures, introducing classical concert programs from Powell Hall’s stage.
Henderson’s discography includes collaborations with violinist David Halen, flutist Mark Sparks, and soprano Marlissa Hudson. His most recent solo album is A Celebration of African Composers for Piano (AMP AGCD 2706, released 2017).
Henderson also occasionally composes music. Rückblick (Looking Back), his song without words for trombone and piano, appears on Gerry Pagano’s album Solitude, released 2018. Printed and electronic editions of Rückblick were issued by Ascenda Music Publishing in January 2024.
Henderson holds a Doctor of Music degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. He and his wife Kristin Ahlstrom, the SLSO’s Associate Principal Second Violinist, live in St. Louis with their lively, sweet beagle/terrier-mix, Zinni.
The 2022-23 Music at Maryville series concludes Sunday afternoon, April 23, at 3:00 p.m. with a free performance by the Saint Louis’s premiere string quartet, the Arianna Quartet: John McGrosso and Julia Sakharova, violins; Joanna Mendoza, viola; and Kurt Baldwin, cello.
Peter Henderson, piano — Haydn meets Bach — Jan. 20, 2023 @ 7:30 p.m., Maryville University Auditorium — Free admission
“Haydn meets Bach” Program:
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Hob. XV:46 (ca. 1767-70)
I. Allegro moderato II. Adagio III. Finale: Presto
Andante with Double Variations (Sonata “Un piccolo divertimento”) in F minor, Hob. XVII:6 (1793)
Brief Intermission
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
French Suite No. 1 in D minor, BWV 812 (ca. 1722)
I. Allemande II. Courante III. Sarabande IV. Menuet I — Menuet II V. Gigue
Chaconne with Variations from Partita No. 2 for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1004 (ca. 1717-20) — Concert arrangement for the piano by Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924), 1893
The 2022-23 Music at Maryville series continues this Sunday afternoon, November 13, with a performance by a jazz combo led by Adam Maness, a prominent member of St. Louis’s music community who is active as a jazz composer, arranger, pianist, and educator.
Performing solo piano works by Haydn in a faculty recital on Friday, January 20, 2022, at 7:30 p.m., in the Maryville University Auditorium. Free admission.
Reading and blogging on this site about Haydn’s life and work.
When the Bösendorfer grand piano is stored, please:
Ensure that the piano is in its usual position close to the side of the altar platform, with its long (not curved) side nearest the platform.
Ensure that the piano’s keyboard lid is closed, and the keyboard lock on the left side is in place and locked (Maryville Public Safety—314-529-9500—has a copy of the keyboard-lock key).
Ensure that the piano’s undercarriage humidisitat is plugged into the nearest electrical outlet.
Ensure that the piano’s custom cover is on the instrument, and the sign asking people to refrain from placing things on the piano is in place on top of the custom cover. The piano’s dedicated bench can be placed under the keyboard in a way that will allow it to fit under the custom cover.
Please do not move this piano. Its usual position ensures that it will not be damaged by air blown upward from the registers along the chapel’s walls.
When using the Bösendorfer grand piano:
Remove the piano’s custom cover and keyboard lid-lock (Maryville Public Safety—314-529-9500—has a copy of the keyboard lid-lock’s key), then place them in a safe place.
When opening the piano’s lid, please first open the lid’s small section near the keyboard, then the main portion of the lid.
The lid will open partway, or fully. This is important!:
The hole in the lid nearest the edge is for the two shorter lid-support stick(s).
The hole in the lid farther in from the edge is for the full-length lid-support stick.
Once the lid is supported in its desired inclination, please ensure that the stick is perpendicular to the lid. If the lid and its supporting stick are mismatched, there’s a chance that the lid (which is heavy) may collapse, endangering people nearby.
