Since 1999 he has been the director of the Sundance Film Music Program, where he runs the yearly Composers Lab. Film scores include Frozen River (which was nominated for Academy Awards for best actress and best screenplay), The Great Debaters (directed by Denzel Washington and co-composed with James Newton Howard), and The Laramie Project (for HBO, directed by Moises Kaufman). Recent Broadway scores include The Country House, The Heiress, and Time Stands Still. He has written numerous works of chamber music, as well as vocal and orchestral concert works. Peter taught composition at both Bennington College and Reed College.