Maitland Peters

College Faculty Emeritus

Maitland Peters was for many years Chairman of the Voice Department at Manhattan School of Music and a long-time faculty member until he retired in 2022.

In 2009 he was awarded Manhattan School of Music’s Presidential Award for excellence in teaching and service to Manhattan School of Music. As one of New York City’s most prominent and sought-after voice teachers, Maitland Peters maintained a studio of well over 100 professionals, while directing one of the largest and most prestigious faculties of voice in the world.

His students sing on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, the opera companies of Berlin, Munich, Paris and Glyndebourne, in leading opera companies across the United States and Europe as well as the Broadway stage. Notable singers from the Metropolitan Opera with whom Maitland Peters has worked include Brian Schexnayder, Pamela Coburn, Carol Yahr, Michael Sylvester, Liam Bonner, Allan Glassman, Mechthild Gessendorf, Wira Banyewich, Stephen West, Douglas Perry, Mark Lundberg, Marc Heller and Paul Frey. Stars from the Broadway stage include Stockard Channing, Stacey Logan, Burke Moses, Sherry Boone, Shuler Hensley, Martin Vidnovic, Steven Anderson, Jessica Grove, and Rebecca Eichenberger as well as many young American professionals on the verge of major international careers.

His students from Manhattan School of Music have sung at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Seattle, and Houston and have participated in every major apprentice program including Merola, Santa Fe, Central City, St. Louis, Chautauqua, Glimmerglass, Sarasota, Seattle, and Portland, as well as all the major vocal competitions throughout the U.S. and Europe. He was the co-creator and artistic director of the Manhattan School of Music Summer Voice Festival.

On television, Mr. Peters has served as vocal adjudicator on Live with Regis and Kelly and was filmed for the PBS special, Music, Emotion and the Voice. He was featured as one of three outstanding vocal technicians from the United States on the DVD You Are Your Instrument, released for international distribution.

An award-winning baritone himself, with years of in-depth study of the human voice, Mr. Peters has had notable success in master classes as a creative innovator throughout the United States and Europe in the field of vocal technique. He has served as the artistic director of the Spoleto Vocal Arts Symposium in Italy, was on the faculty of the National Opera Center, and a frequent adjudicator for many international and national competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council, National Youth Foundation, and the International Contemporary Opera. He is proud to be the father of two beautiful children, Preston and Olympia. Mr. Peters was a member of Manhattan School of Music’s voice faculty from 1990 to 2022, and MSM Precollege faculty from 2004 to 2022.