Peter Gach is a pianist of wide-ranging musical interests. His repertoire extends from the complete Well-Tempered Clavier, Vol. II of JS Bach, to contemporary works written especially for him.
He has premiered works by Southern California composers and actively commissions new music for the piano. His performances of works by many of these composers are featured in the CD Fresh Piano on the Innova label. Gach has also issued recordings of the music of Fryderyk Chopin and Scott Joplin.
He is known for his engaging and informative lecture-recitals. In 2022 commissioned Not a Thing but a Movement: A Cycle in Eight Movements by award-winning composer Benjamin Krause. He performed its premiere in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2025.
Photo by Esteban Marin
His book on the art of preparing for and presenting performances, Perfect Practice/Perfect Performance, is available for download from his website, petergach.com.
He holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Arizona as well as post-graduate studies at the Warsaw Conservatory in Poland. There he studied with Jan Ekier, editor of the Complete Works of Chopin in the Polish National Edition. A recipient of a Kosciuszko Foundation Grant, he was the only North American student to be admitted to study with Ekier. Fluent in both Polish and French, Gach has made a lifetime study of the works of both Chopin and Karol Szymanowski (1885-1937.)
​
He is Professor Emeritus at Palomar College, where he was Chairperson of the Performing Arts Department (Music, Theater and Dance) and Artist in Residence in Piano. He was awarded First Prize in the “Chopin in the XXIst Century” Competition at the 26th Annual International Festival of Multimedia and Film in Poland for his video recording of a lecture-recital on the Four Ballades of Chopin. He also received the Palomar College Foundation’s Comet Award for his contributions to the College. In retirement, he initiated a fund-raising campaign for the purchase of a Steinway Concert Grand in the College’s renovated Performing Arts Complex. It is named the Peter Gach Steinway in his honor.
​
Gach continues to perform, with special emphasis on performances to raise funds for causes he
supports. These have included concerts for the Museum of Making Music Educational Fund, Women Veterans with PTSD, the North County Serenity House, and benefit recitals for both the Hidden Valley Zen Center and Mountain Gate Sanmonji. He has performed throughout the US and abroad.
​
Critical Voices:
A winning combination of polished keyboard performance and engaging lecture.
- Los Angeles Times
The performances were sensitive, expressive, and with a vital spontaneity.
- San Diego Reader
Click here for Peter's CV
