Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, and attended Grimsley High School between 1966 and 1969. He earned is bachelors of music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972 and masters degree in composition from the University of Michigan in 1973. He later attended the University of Illinois between 1974 and 1976, and studied composition with Salvatore Martirano and Ben Johnson. He completed his DMA in composition in 1976. Shortly after completing his doctoral studies he took a position with the Internal Revenue Service, and remained with the IRS until 1979 when he accepted an accounting position in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. He later work for Illinois' Alumni Association (1981-1989), Geology Department (1989-1999), and the Foreign Language Department (1999-2006). After retiring from the University of Illinois in 2006, he returned his focus on music composition.
From the guide to the Peter Michalove Music and Papers, 1963-2013, (The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music)
