Peter Dayton is an acclaimed pianist, poet, and freelance composer whose works have been performed across North America and Europe. He has been described by the Baltimore Sun as having “a refined sense of melodic arcs and harmonic motion.” With degrees in composition from Vanderbilt University and Peabody Conservatory, he’s received university, national, and international awards for his work.

Dayton will host a release party for his new CD, Notes to Loved Ones, an album of works for piano and strings. This is his first recording including only his compositions. The party will be held on February 20th at the Cork Factory (302 Federal Street, Baltimore). It will be held in Grant Anderson’s 5N art space studio. Ring for #11 and use the elevator at the end of the hall to go to floor 5. See more at Bit.ly/2EB6VMg.

Dayton will be signing CDs at the party, and performers from the album will be showcasing their talents and projects. There will also be a sneak peek of Dayton’s upcoming All In The Sound: American Songs by Peter Dayton concert.

Dayton’s creative process often involves visual art or poetry that serve as the spark for a musical artistic response. His passion for literature has resulted in over a dozen settings of poems in art songs and choral works. You can view a video excerpt of the music from the new CD at Bit.ly/2EkzYAG.

Dayton is actively involved in LGBT community activism, and was one of the founders of the Baltimore artist collective and multimedia series Amplified Cactus. Last year he also bore the title of Mr. Maryland Leather 2017.

​While most of his musical work has not necessarily focused on LGBTQ issues, “that is increasingly finding its way into my output,” he said. “This includes an upcoming concert on April 12th, where a song cycle based on Whitman’s most explicitly homoerotic poem, Calamus, will be premiered, along with a concert performance of a chamber opera, May She | She May, that I wrote ​about Gertrude Stein’s first lesbian love affair.” Two of the pieces included on the new CD, the string quartets, were premiered at a fundraiser he put together for a marriage equality nonprofit organization in the early 2010s.

​Dayton’s new CD is produced by Navona Records. For more info, visit Peterdaytonmusic.com.– Bill Redmond-Palmer