News Release

Peter Landgren

Peter Landgren, a Peabody Conservatory faculty member since 1981 and a distinguished horn player for 27 years with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, has been appointed interim director of the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.

Landgren will take office Oct. 1, when current director Robert Sirota becomes president of the Manhattan School of Music. He will serve until Sirota's successor is identified. The two will work together closely over the next several months to ensure a smooth transition, university President William R. Brody said.

"Peter has emerged as a real leader among the faculty of the Peabody," Brody said. "As head of the Peabody Change Team for two years, he has been instrumental in designing a plan to restructure the institute's administration and faculty governance, changing the way that Peabody works and better aligning its operations with its mission to be one of the world's great conservatories."

"Peter's choice as interim director ensures continuation of the incredible momentum Peabody has established under Bob Sirota," said Steven Knapp, the university's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. In Sirota's 10 years as director, the institute completed a transformational $27 million renovation of its Mount Vernon Place campus. It has revamped its curriculum, established closer ties to other institutions in Baltimore and collaborated in the founding of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore.

In addition to heading the Peabody Change Team, Landgren has been co-chair of the institute's Undergraduate Committee and a member of its Academic Council. He teaches both graduate and undergraduate horn players, coaches chamber music and conducts sectional rehearsals for both of Peabody's orchestras. In 2003, he won the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award.

"I am personally saddened that Bob is leaving Peabody," Landgren said. "We have worked very closely together over the past two years as the school has entered into a reassessment of how we work with each other, and sharpening our focus on the mission and vision of the Peabody Institute, which is to provide the most comprehensive education across the board for our students.

"My goal for the coming year, as I serve as the institute's interim director," Landgren said, "will be to sustain the momentum that Bob has created and keep our country's oldest conservatory of music moving forward in terms of quality of education, visibility and fund raising. I already work with a stellar faculty, staff and leadership team, and look forward to the transition of leading the institute for the coming year."

Landgren, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, joined the Baltimore Symphony in 1978 at 21, before completing his undergraduate training. Three years later, he became associate principal horn, a position he still holds. He is often a featured soloist with the orchestra and appears on more than 20 of its recordings. He released his first solo recording in 1995. His latest release, Mozart Distilled, is a recording with the Atlantic String Quartet of the four horn concerti and concert rondo by Mozart, in new arrangements for horn and string quartet.

Landgren will take a one-year leave of absence from the Baltimore Symphony to serve as interim director. He will maintain his teaching commitments at the Peabody.

Located in the Mount Vernon Cultural District, Peabody was founded in 1857 as America's first music conservatory. Today, it boasts a preeminent faculty, a nurturing, collaborative learning environment, and the academic resources of a leading university. Through the degree-granting Conservatory and the community-based Preparatory, Peabody stages more than 800 music and dance performances each year.