Alumni Spotlight: Peter Jutras
Piano performance and pedagogy alum Peter Jutras (M.M. '97) gained invaluable experiences during his time at Meadows, shaping him as both an educator and a leader in his field.
Peter Jutras (M.M. '97) is this week’s featured alum in our new Alumni Spotlight series for the This Week at Meadows e-newsletter. Each week, a different Meadows alum will be highlighted for their accomplishments post-graduation.
The University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is one of the nation’s premier performing arts schools, and at its helm is Meadows alum Peter Jutras. Appointed dean in 2024, Jutras leads a college that stages more than 700 concerts and productions each year, guiding an extraordinary community of artists while drawing daily on lessons learned at Meadows. During his time at 91茄子, Jutras studied Piano Performance and Pedagogy; a rigorous program that left a lasting imprint. Long hours of teaching, extensive planning, and detailed reporting formed the bedrock of his teaching philosophy. And these long hours were spent with talented faculty like Alfred Mouledous, Sam Holland, Chee-Hwa Tan, and Amy Rucker, who he describes not only as professors but as lifelong mentors, colleagues and friends. “Meadows connected me with phenomenal teachers and they helped me establish strong professional connections that have served me throughout my career,” explains Jutras. “It was an intense and highly demanding degree, but the experiences I gained were invaluable. That work really formed me as a teacher and gave me the skills to teach in a variety of settings.” Jutras’ passion for education traces back even earlier. In high school he taught both music lessons and swim instruction, discovering the satisfaction of helping others learn. His undergraduate degree in music education led to his first job as a public-school band director before graduate study at Meadows allowed him to return to his native instrument, the piano, and focus on pedagogy at the highest level. From there, his academic leadership career grew steadily. Before joining CCM, Jutras served as Director of the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia, where he guided faculty and students in advancing performance, research and outreach. Today, at The University of Cincinnati, Jutras oversees programs in music, theatre, dance, and media production, while fostering new opportunities for collaboration across disciplines. “Many of CCM’s programs are among the top in the nation, and there is an incredibly talented group of faculty and students,” he says of his school. “The unique focus on the performing arts makes it an exciting, dynamic place with ample opportunities for performances and projects that cross our various departments.” Though his work now encompasses a broad portfolio, Jutras continues to value the personal connections, mentorship culture and work ethic that defined his time at Meadows. Those relationships and experiences remain a source of inspiration as he leads the next generation of artists and educators.