Research environment
Peters has been intimately involved with the creation of this new Centre. This initiative, the result of a collaboration between Maastricht University, Zuyd Hogeschool, and the South Netherlands Philharmonic, is financed by the three aforementioned organisations and has received further funding from the Province of Limburg and the Municipality of Maastricht. Both scientific research and practice will be carried out at the institute, making good use of the ample opportunity to study in in collaboration with the three participating organisations. Peters: “The South Netherlands Philharmonic plays much the same part in this collaboration as a university medical centre does in the context of medical research. By allowing the musicians and the artists of tomorrow to participate, you create a research environment by which all the involved parties will inevitably benefit.” 

Peter Peters
Peters (Amsterdam, 1960) specialised in a combination of scientific and practice-based research in the arts. He studied sociology and philosophy at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen after which he worked as a classical music journalist for, amongst others, NRC Handelsblad; he was also editor in chief of Mens en Melodie. In 2003, he completed his PhD at Maastricht University with a dissertation on travel in technological cultures. From 2007 to 2013, in addition to his position as a university lecturer at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) at Maastricht University, he was professor at the research centre of the Arts Faculty at Zuyd Hogeschool. His published works include Klankwerelden. De twintigste eeuw van Reinbert de Leeuw (Sound Worlds - The 20th Century of Reinbert de Leeuw) and, together with Maaike Meijer and Jac van den Bogaard, Rieu. Maestro zonder grenzen (Rieu. Maestro without Borders). Currently, Peters manages the NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) Smart Culture project Artful Participation. Doing Artistic Research with Symphonic Music Audiences. 

Peters regards the MCICM as a chance to support the many innovative initiatives in the world of classical music: “This structural collaboration between scholars, practice-based artistic researchers, art students, and professionals as well as amateur musicians, all within the context of the very same problem context, is unique in the world”. 

Musical citizenship
Ruth Benschop (involved with the MCICM as professor at the Arts Faculty at Zuyd Hogeschool and the Artful Participation-project) and Leo Swinkels (director of the faculty) are pleased with Peters’ appointment: “We have already worked together a lot in the past at the cross-section of engaged artistic research on the one hand and academic, scientific and technological research on the other. We are looking forward to make the MCICM an authentic laboratory for musical citizenship.”  

Dynamic boost
By joining the efforts of the MCICM, the South Netherlands Philharmonic strengthens its position as a dynamic booster in the Dutch musical world. The orchestra showcases a continuous urge to innovate and broaden its programmes to attract new target audiences, as well as bind existing ones. It does this not only with regard to concert attendance, but also when it comes to education, the connection to the business world, the entire economy, and science. 

“Congratulations to Peter Peters. A very good choice has been made and I am more than convinced that he will lead the MCICM to fulfil its mission successfully in the coming years. I am also very much looking forward to our co-operation,” says Stefan Rosu. With this development he now witnesses the realization of one of his many initiatives of preserving classical music in the 21st century by shaping it into new moulds and giving it new meaning.