Bio
Originally from Wisconsin, pianist Abigail Petersen has performed in solo and collaborative settings across the midwestern United States and in Germany. She is currently pursuing dual Master of Music degrees in Collaborative Piano and Chamber Music under Dr. Ana María Otamendi at the University of Michigan, and she holds double baccalaureate degrees in Music Performance and Latin from Bowling Green State University, where she studied with Dr. Yevgeny Yontov and graduated as a Presser Undergraduate Scholar, a Hansen Fellow, a Presidential Scholar, and a laureate of the President’s Award.
Abigail’s recording credits include Scattered Petals (2026) – an exploration of her identity as a Midwestern woman through both solo and collaborative repertoire – and Global Impressions (2025) with clarinetist Justin Brown. In 2023, she made her concerto debut with the BGSU Philharmonia as the winner of the university’s concerto competition and subsequently appeared as soloist with the Perrysburg Symphony Orchestra. Abigail has performed in masterclasses for distinguished pianists including Craig Terry, Anton Nel, Robert McDonald, Soyeon Kate Lee, and Terrence Wilson. Abigail is also an alumna of Brevard Music Center, where she studied under Norman Krieger and Michael Chertock.
A three-time recipient of the BGSU C. Elizabeth Cobb Memorial Scholarship for her early efforts in collaborative piano, Abigail attended the Collaborative Piano Institute, where she studied with artists including Howard Watkins, Warren Jones, and Martin Katz. Through a variety of collaborative experiences – including first prizes in the Dr. Marjorie Conrad Art Song Competition and the Douglas Wayland Chamber Music Competition – Abigail uncovered a passion for art song and chamber music literature, valuing the intense and heartfelt emotional experiences the collaborative medium affords to its performers and audiences. She followed this passion abroad to Germany, where she studied under Brian Moll as part of the Berlin Lieder Akademie and Festival. With additional training from Music on Site, Inc., Abigail continues to emerge as a vocal coach and freelance collaborative pianist. Recent appointments include the Interlochen Vocal Intensive, the Mid-West Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, the BGSU Summer Music Institute, and state competitions for the Music Teachers National Association and the National Association of Teachers of Singing.
As an alumna sister of Sigma Alpha Iota, Abigail is a fierce advocate for representation of women in the modern musical landscape and has undertaken institutionally funded research to illuminate the life and works of Croatian woman composer Dora Pejačević, whose work she performed at the Sigma Alpha Iota National Convention in 2025. For this project and others, she has been awarded research and recording grants through the Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music, the Mayeux Prize, the BGSU Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, and the BGSU Honors College.
Abigail remains committed to the performance of new music, especially premieres of works by her composer colleagues. Notable recent premieres include Landon Cina’s Sonata for Cello and Piano (2023) and micro-opera The Sacrifice of Isaac (2024), and Steven Naylor’s Landscape with Trees and Water (2024) for solo piano. She has additionally received grant funding from the University of Michigan to record a selection of Jonathan D. Kroeger’s art songs with sopranos Emma Clark and Kirsten Kidd and mezzo-soprano Katherine Pracht Phares in 2026.