Peter Fichte - 2009

Peter Fichte has been playing clarinet for a very long time (almost 60 years and counting!). He was a member of his junior and senior high school bands and orchestras (the "other" golden years) and played in the New Rochelle (NY) Symphony Orchestra before going to college.

He has played in a number of community orchestras: the New York University Orchestra, the Vermont Philharmonic Orchestra (during his UVM graduate school years), the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, the Danbury (CT) Symphony Orchestra, and most recently with the Florence (SC) Symphony Orchestra, where he was the principal clarinetist for over 20 years.

He has also played with a number of town bands: the Westchester (NY) Pops Band, the Burlington City Band,and Chandler's Military Band (Portland, Maine), which at one time "rivaled" the longevity of the Saint Johnsbury Band.

After retiring from Coker College (Hartsville, SC) in May 2007, where he taught chemistry and physics, he moved to Vermont, spent a year in Lyndonville, and then bought a home in Saint Johnsbury. Dr. Fichte now plays in the Saint Johnsbury Band, the Lyndonville Town Band, and the Danville Town Band. He hopes to recruit folks over the next few years to play chamber music (winds and string-and-winds), one of his most favorite musical genres.