Joseph Peters is a Singapore music pioneer. An ethnomusicologist and music director, he introduced the military band to Singapore schools in the ’60s. He established an extra-curricular music programme in the National University of Singapore (NUS) in the ’70s and ’80s with the formation and development of various music groups such as the NUS Symphonic Band, NUS Stage Band, NUS Electronic Music Lab and the NUS Rondalla, Singapore’s first rondalla (tremolo music ensemble). Peters is also Singapore’s liaison for the UNESCO’s International Council for Traditional Music.

Born in Singapore in 1947, Joseph Peters’ musical journey started with violin lessons in primary 2. His talent for musical innovation showed itself early on when the 12-year-old St. Joseph’s Institution (SJI) student, together with his friends, transformed the school bugle and fife band into a marching band, the SJI Military Band.

Seeing the marching band perform, then Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew decided to establish similar bands in schools across Singapore and sent administrators to consult a 16-year-old Peters for his advice. Peters led the SJI Military Band as its drum major in the first National Day parade in 1966, and was acknowledged by Prime Minister Lee as the only drum major out of 32 bands to throw his mace at the grandstand during the march-past. Peters also established the SJI Choir and SJI Orchestra while he was a student, and served as the president of the SJI Music Society.

Going on to the University of Singapore in 1968, Peters was requested by the Vice Chancellor Toh Chin Chye to assist respected Singapore musician Gerry Soliano in establishing and training the University of Singapore Military Band, which was the first tertiary band in Singapore. Without a formal band training system, he initiated a buddy system to ensure knowledge was passed from student to student. Peters served as band major of the University of Singapore Military Band under band director Soliano, and as the president of the Singapore University Music Society.

Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Social Science degree in 1971, he was invited by Vice Chancellor Toh to join the faculty as an administrator in the newly formed Music Department in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, and to develop the extracurricular music and dance programme. Seizing the chance to turn his passion into a professional career, Peters accepted the offer for what would become a lifelong involvement with the university.

The Music Department closed after five years due to a number of factors, including a lack of students and Peters devoted his energy to developing and leading the extracurricular music and dance programme. In the next two decades, he established and served as musical director of the NUS Symphonic Band, NUS Stage Band and the NUS Electronic Music Lab. Ever the innovator, Peters established the Electronic Music Lab to offer students opportunities to explore and use new electronic music technology to create and perform original electronic music works.

But it was his introduction of the rondalla, a tremolo music ensemble, in Singapore with the establishment of the NUS Rondalla that made Singapore music history. He had become acquainted with the rondalla while pursuing postgraduate studies in music at the University of Philippines from 1978 to 1981. There, he joined the University of Philippines Rondalla, playing the 14-string banduria and performing at festive and social occasions. When he returned to Singapore with a Masters in Music, he set up a rondalla at the university.

With Peters at the helm, the NUS Rondalla became an ensemble of skilled musicians with a wide repertoire of folk songs and classical pieces arranged and composed by themselves, using a mix of Filipino and Spanish plucked string and tremolo instruments such as the banduria, octavina and mandola. Nurtured under his heuristic group pedagogy in which the students themselves were heavily involved in teaching, training, conducting and composing, the NUS Rondalla continues to thrive today.

After retiring from the extracurricular music and dance programme in 1993, Peters—who had by now also attained a Ph.D from the University of Western Australia—started working in media development. He served in the AV-IT sector of NUS until his retirement as Associate Director (Multimedia) in 2009. Outside of work, Peters remained a dedicated musician and composer, playing the mandolin for the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the trombone and other brass instruments in school bands, and the banduria, sitar and keyboards, among other instruments. He also found the time to play in a jazz-influenced Indian instrumental band with guitarist Alex Abisheganaden.

Throughout his career, Peters has also been involved in many ASEAN projects and served many international organisations. He is the Singapore representative and liaison officer for the UNESCO International Council for Traditional Music, a committee member of the Repertoire International for Music Literature, and the Asian coordinator for Latitude South 35, Argentina. In Singapore, he is an advisor to the National Arts Council, Singapore Indian Orchestra and the MusicSG project of the National Library Board, Singapore.

Currently, Peters is employed as a Specialist Professor at the Graduate School of the College of Music at Mahasarakham University located in the Mekong Basin. He continues to lead the NUS Rondalla as music director and resident conductor. He is also developing new instrument prototypes for the establishment of a tremolo orchestra incorporating facets of Chinese, Indian and Malay musical cultures.