“Music to me is one of the great mysteries originating out of Life. Sometimes it seems that everything that can possibly
be expressed within music already exists but here I am, tapping into it and molding it through my perception, bringing it into this world.
Creating music in real time, alone
or with other people, can be a wonderful tool to experience transcendence,
and it provides a beautiful opportunity to connect to everybody involved in the process, to feel the joy of and to listening to what is being created, and to ultimately become one with the sounds unfolding
in front of you.
To me, this is where the magic happens, where great music can be found."
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Peter Traunmueller is an Austrian drummer, pianist, composer, arranger and educator based in New York City.
Born in Salzburg, Austria, Peter started out studying European classical percussion and drumset with Matthias Birzer and performed with local orchestras and chamber music ensembles. Being surrounded at home by American music such as Jazz, Rock and Fusion, Peter soon became fully drawn into this musical world and started playing piano, guitar and bass under the tutelage of his dad, guitarist and composer Walter Traunmueller.
With the additional loving support of his mother, Gerlinde Traunmueller, Peter was able to take lessons from and later on perform with local Jazz musicians such as David Hauser, Sven Wolf, Peter Bachmayer, Bruno Juen, Robert Friedl, Kurt Gersdorf and Dietmar Kastowsky.
In 2006 Peter moved to Linz, Austria to obtain a BA in music performance and music education from Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität, studying drums with Jeff Boudreaux and piano with Dejan Pecenko.
In 2009 Peter moved to Vienna, Austria, and expanded his musical horizon and started working with musicians such as Harry Sokal, Klaus Dickbauer, Christoph Cech, Peter Herbert, Ryan Langer, among many others.
In 2012 Peter moved to New York City where he presently works and collaborates with many different musicians and groups.
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Peter's fascination with all kinds of styles and aspects of music, his willingness to staying open to new artistic possibilities and approaches, his strong belief in supporting and connecting meaningfully with other artists, combined with a steadfast commitment to studying and growing within music, art and life itself, plus the immeasurable support of many wonderful people has been enabling him a well-diversified career as a performing artist on drums and piano, as well as a composer and arranger.
Memorable performances as a drummer include music festival appearances in the US, China, Spain, Greece, Peru, Canada and Austria as well as playing at prestigous music venues such as Blue Note NYC, Birdland NYC, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Smalls Jazz Club among many others with musicians and bands such as Michel Reis, Assaf Kehati, Milo Z, Hyuna Park Trio, Lukas Gabric Quartet, Joe Alterman Trio, Mimi & The Podd Bros., Ryo Sasaki Group, Lukas Kletzander Quartet, Hermann Linecker, Andi Haidecker, Alois Eberl & John Arman.
In 2015, Peter joined Milo Z and his band on drums, playing major venues such as Sony Hall NYC, BB King's and The Cutting Room, and opening for bands such as The Family Stone and Prince's New Power Generation.
A highlight in Peter’s keyboard playing career was a performance with Greg Errico and Days Of Wild, headlining the WE2019 Festival in Virginia (US) among legendary bands Vanilla Fudge and Jefferson Starship.
As a composer, Peter has composed numerous recorded works for various Jazz band formations, he contributed as a composer and performer to “NYC - This Is Us", a two-part documentary film commissioned by the Austrian Cultural Forum NYC, and he is a co-composer /arranger on albums of his regular collaborators.
Peter is also a member of the New York Composer’s Circle (NYCC) and his Piece For String Quartet will be performed with NYCC in February 2024.
As an arranger, Peter has mostly been working with his own groups over the years, arranging well-known Jazz Standards and popular songs.
In collaboration with Pierre Piscitelli, Peter has arranged numerous Beatles songs for string quartet for Cellophane Flowers feat. Jeff Lubin, who performed their arrangements at the Fest For Beatles Fans in 2015.
Currently, Peter is working intensively with transdisciplinary auteur Renato Diz on several projects, including their 2023 release on W&J Productions, “Descriptions Of Useless Subtitles and Meaningful Sublimations”, a transdisciplinary project consisting of an album, poetry and drawings.
With the Philip Weberndoerfer Trio, Peter is working on the release of the trio’s debut album (planned release in March 2024 ).
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Peter is also an active member of the illustrious NYC music scene, performing & having performed with artists such as Jon Davis, Will Galison, Steve Whipple, Elias Meister, Curtis J, Danny Lipsitz, Peter Maness, Rob Block, Assaf Kehati, Danny Fernandez, John DiMartino, Jim Cammack, Joel Frahm, Dennis Brandner, Gianni Gagliardi, Jim Funnell’s Word Out, Phil Robson, Jed Levy, Dan Block, Pete Malinverni, Michael Kanan, John Stetch, Alex Clough, Alexa Barchini, Jonathan Fritz, Larry Cooley, Katie Henry, Steve Einerson, Peter Brendler, Russ Nolan, David Linard, Emily Braden, Frank Ocasio Brother Band, among many others.