Johann Friedrich Peter

May 19, 1746 - July 13, 1813 Known as perhaps the most accomplished of the American Moravian composers. Serving faithfully as a pastor, teacher, and director of music in many American congregations, including Nazareth, Bethlehem, Lititz (PA), Salem (NC), Graceham (MD), Hope (NJ), Mountjoy (Donegal, PA), and Bethlehem; composing nearly 100 beautiful sacred works for worship; crafting the 6 ground-breaking string quintets, perhaps the first chamber music written in this country; teaching countless young people; copying many compositions and bringing them to America, thus preserving what are the only-known copies of many of them … There are so many contributions he made not only to Moravian music, but to musical knowledge, and to the wider musical world through his teaching.