Peter was born and grew up in St. Paul. He played on his first recording when he was 16, and has been performing live and in the studio ever since. Peter's dad was a chemist, his mom an elementary teacher. He is the only professional musician in the family. Peter lives in Minneapolis.

In the early 1970s, Peter worked a few times with Fred and Anna Vagle on several gigs. Over the years, Peter has become friends with several SJA musicians. So when a regular percussionist position opened at SJA, Peter agreed to fill the position. Peter says, "I love to perform at SJA. The people are so welcoming, inclusive and warm. It's a joy to be a part of the music program."

Peter has spent his entire career as a full time professional drummer/musician. He moved to Los Angeles in the October 1974, where he started out playing with a group who played daily at the "Magic Mountain" theme park. Soon he became the drummer for the "Manhattan Transfer", with whom he toured the U.S., Europe, Australia and New Zealand for three years. During one of these tours, he played on "Manhattan Transfer Live", an album recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. He also played on the "Pastiche" Manhattan Transfer studio album.

Peter moved back to Minneapolis in 1982. During the mid 80's and early 90's, he split his time between writing and playing. He wrote hundreds of jingles and underscores for commercials. A writing highlight was composing and producing all the music for two "Sesame Street Live" shows, which toured the world.

At the same time, Peter was the house band drummer for two American Public Radio weekly shows that were heard nationally: "Good Evening" and "First House on the Right". In that capacity, he played with Shawn Colvin, Lyle Lovett, and Harry Connick Jr., among many others.

Today, Peter is still exhibiting his drumming versatility. In appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, he has played Klezmer music with Doc Severinson, and jazz with Dave Brubeck. He was Gene Pitney's drummer. He plays often with "Synergy", one of the elite variety bands in the Twin Cities. He does recording sessions with local artists. He is the principal percussionist with the Minnesota Sinfonia, a 26 piece chamber orchestra. He makes frequent appearances on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion". And at special events in Minneapolis, Peter has played with Michael Bolton, Sister Sledge, Freda Payne, Trisha Yearwood, Chuck Berry, David Gaines, and Donny Osmond, among many others.

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Jerry Hartlaub commutes from New Brighton with his wife, Trish, to be refreshed and challenged at the "SJA spiritual oasis". He's a Sunday mass slide jockey and "worker bee" at many SJA events. For fun he has written a bunch of poetry, printed his first book, and invented lots of stuff in a 30-year bioengineering career. These days he teaches cardiac physiology (but he's mostly retired), serves on non-profit boards, does Junior Achievement gigs and plays softball. But most rewarding is providing child-care for two of the world's smartest, cutest grandchildren.

Peter truly enjoys performing at SJA. He looks forward to enjoying the spirit and friendships he experiences each time he comes to SJA