Peter holds a Ph.D. in the field of Neuromusicology, where he examined issues involved in how the brain processes music, memory, and language. He has been involved in Education for the last 49 years as a teacher, administrator and lecturer at Stony Brook University. Dr. Pece is a professional musician who has performed for many years in that capacity. At Gateway Playhouse in Bellport, he has been musical director of their Children’s Theater since 1993 and has musically directed mainstage productions of Beauty and the Beast, My Fair Lady and The Rat Pack is Back. Peter has performed at Lincoln Center as well as having arranged and performed musical revues for former President Bush (41) and former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. At Stony Brook, Dr. Pece teaches classes on diverse topics such as; music and neurologic function, the pre-adolescent/educational methods and a course on the Foundations of Education entitled Effective Professional Thinking. In May, 2019 he was awarded the prestigious Bentley Glass-Mortimer Kreuter Excellence in Teaching award from Stony Brook Universities School of Professional Development. Peter is also the musical director and arranger for “Courting the Jester: A Salute to Danny Kaye” and “That’s Amore: A Musical Salute to Harry Warren.” Other highlights as musical director include Big River, Man of La Mancha, Diamonds and The Boys from Syracuse among many others. He has been a consultant and teaching/artist with the Creative Aging Project at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center for nine years and has worked out of St. Charles Hospital and Southampton Hospital where he accompanied their Therapeutic Chorus for patients who have Parkinson’s Disease. Peter is also a composer of neoclassical/cinematic music and has released his first album “The Breath of Shadow” with Wildwood Productions LLC which can be found on all major platforms.
