A regular at the Diamond Valley Arts Center, Peter Curtis is a guitarist and composer. He has performed or recorded with notable jazz and blues musicians including Claudia Acuna, James Carter, Freddy Cole, Taj Mahal, Barbra Morrison and James Moody. He has played in some of the top jazz clubs in Southern California as well as in New York’s Carnegie Hall. In addition, he has performed on Black Entertainment Television. In Europe, some of the venues at which he has appeared include A- Trane in Berlin, Sounds in Brussels, The Jazz Garden in Budapest, Jazz Club in Florence, Der Regentenkammer in the Hague, Jumpin’ Jazz Ballroom in Milan, Studio Des Islettes in Paris, Reduta in Prague and The Gig in Zurich.

As a classical guitarist Peter has given recitals in the U.S. and Canada and was awarded the Andres Segovia memorial scholarship from the Banff Centre for the Arts. Some of his arrangements for classical guitar have been performed by guitarists as far abroad as Australia.

Peter wrote the music and lyrics for a musical he wrote with Montreal writer Joel Yanofsky who wrote the book. The show is a romantic comedy set in and satirizing the academic world - a world rich with opportunities for satire. It was performed at the University of Redlands in the spring of 2008 and was well received by audiences and critics. 

He received his Bachelor of Music degree Magna Cum Laude from the Berklee College of Music, a Masters of Music degree from Yale University, and a Doctor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance and Literature with minor fields in Ethnomusicology and Music History from Indiana University. 

Dr. Curtis is a tenured, Professor of Music at Riverside City College in Riverside, California.