Michalove, Peter A (1951-2013) | University of Illinois Archives

Peter A. Michalove (1951-2013) was a composer, stamp collector, and administrator in the College of Engineering. Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Michalove attended Grimsley High School between 1966 and 1969, where he began composing at an early age, taking composition lessons with Donald H. White as a high school student. He earned his bachelors of music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1972, studying with Roger Hannay. Shortly thereafter, he earned his masters degree in composition from the University of Michigan in 1973. Michalove later attended the University of Illinois between 1974 and 1976, studying composition with Salvatore Martirano and Ben Johnson. He married Sharon Grodsky on May 25, 1975. Michalove completed his DMA in composition the following year.

Unable to find work as a composer, he took a position with the Internal Revenue Service, remaining with the agency until 1979. He and his wife moved back to Champaign that year, accepting a position as a business manager in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois. He later worked for Illinois'  Alumni Association (1981-1989), Geology Department (1989-1999), and the Foreign Language Department (1999-2006). Throughout this time, Michalove was an active philatelist in the Rossica Philately Society where he researched and presented on stamps and letters from Soviet Georgia.  After retiring from the University of Illinois in 2006, he taught music history courses at Parkland College's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI). After hearing of the death of Roger Hanny and after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Michalove returned to music composition in 2008. Between 2008 and his death in 2013, he wrote nearly 60 compositions.