He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark in 1992, when its board overturned the jury's unanimous selection of Concerto Fantastique by Ralph Shapey.
[2] His composition, Free Variations, was recorded by Antal Doráti and the Minnesota Orchestra in 1959, a year before he was awarded his doctorate.
[3] Peterson joined the faculty of San Francisco State University in 1960, ultimately reaching the rank of Professor of Music, before retiring in 1991.
[2] Peterson was awarded the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Music for The Face of the Night, the Heart of the Dark, an orchestral work commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony and conducted by David Zinman.
[3] The Pulitzer board controversially overturned the unanimous selection of the jury – consisting of George Perle, Roger Reynolds, and Harvey Sollberger – who chose Concerto Fantastique by Ralph Shapey.
Back when Blomstedt was at the San Francisco Symphony, David Zinman conducted it and did a beautiful job.
[2] His other honors include a Composer's Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1986) and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1989–90).
Eight years later, San Francisco State University established the Wayne Peterson Prize in Music Composition, which he administered in joint sponsorship with the institution.