Album Notes

"Christmas Present" contains many favorite Christmas melodies performed by a small orchestra, harp, trumpet and handbell ensemble. The melodies express the quietness, and prayerful inspiration of the season highlighted by moments of joy and celebration. The musicians are some of the finest players in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Peter B. Allen has been playing and writing music since he was a boy. By the time Peter was in high school he had an active career playing in bands and as a solo pianist in restaurants. During high school he started studying music composition and began writing music for jazz band, concert band, and chorus. Peter studied music at Principia College, Eastman School of Music, and Aspen Music Festival. He has worked all over the world as a musician including San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Geneva, and Warsaw. Peter has 5 recordings under his own name: Still with Thee (1996), The Greatest Thing In the World, (1998) Pilgrim On Earth (2000), Solitary Freedom (2002), Onward (2006), and Christmas Present (2007). Peter lives with his wife Bess and son David in Santa Rosa, California.