Peter de Jager has extremely wide musical interests, including early music, standard and contemporary classical repertoire, music theatre, and various other forms of popular music. He is in demand as a soloist and collaborative artist on piano and harpsichord, and has particularly championed the latter in more contemporary contexts, having helped develop new Australian works featuring the instrument.

Peter’s compositions are starting to gain more attention, and in 2012, he was young composer in residence at the Australian National Academy of Music, with works of his being performed by students throughout the year.

He was himself a student at the Academy from 2007-2008, studying with Rita Reichman, and later at the University of Melbourne, where he studied piano with Stephen McIntyre, harpsichord with Ann Morgan, and Composition with Stuart Greenbaum and Elliott Gyger.

Recent achievements include his performance of the demanding solo piano part of the Turangalila-Symphonie of Olivier Messiaen, in collaboration with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra conducted by Fabian Russell, the world premiere of Elliott Gyger’s celeste concerto Angels and Insects with the University of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton, and the inaugural first prize at the Australian Internation Chopin Competition, held at the Australian National University in Canberra, an event which appealed to him because of his broad interest in historical performance practice, in this instance that of the romantic performing tradition. In addition, he has twice traveled to the Lucerne Festival Academy, playing contemporary European ensemble and chamber music under the baton and artistic direction of Pierre Boulez, as well as to the Bang on a Can Summer Institute in North Adams, Massachussets for the American counterpart.