Peter Hollens

A versatile performer, composer, arranger, instructor, and independent businessman, Peter Hollens has championed vocal harmony traditions ever since co-founding the collegiate ensemble On the Rocks with Leo da Silva at the University of Oregon in 1999. Initially recognized online for his layered a cappella reinterpretations, he issued two early cover collections in 2012 before securing a contract with Sony Music Masterworks, which launched his self-titled major-label project in 2014. Later recordings turned toward cinematic and seasonal repertoire, and in 2017 he stepped onto the Broadway stage with spouse Evynne Hollens for the holiday production Home for the Holidays.

Born in Ashland, Oregon, Hollens completed a vocal-performance degree at the University of Oregon, where he arranged, tracked, and adjudicated collegiate competitions. Launching his personal YouTube channel in 2011, he began uploading multi-tracked harmony videos, frequently joined by Nick Pitera, Lindsey Stirling, Mike Tompkins, Sam Tsui, Tyler Ward, George Watsky, Alex G, and Evynne Hollens; by midsummer 2014 the channel had attracted roughly 750,000 subscribers. Operating from his Eugene, Oregon, home studio, he handled production duties for On the Rocks, Divisi, Cornell’s Chordials, the Duke’s Men of Yale, the Whiffenpoofs, Committed, the Backbeats, and the Swingle Singers, among other ensembles.

Following the 2012 appearance of his independent debut sets Covers, Vol. 1 and Covers, Vol. 2, Sony Music Masterworks released the Peter Hollens album in autumn 2014. His next effort explored Tolkien-inspired material on Misty Mountains: Songs Inspired by the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, an early-2016 collection spotlighting a cappella treatments of pieces by Enya, Neil Finn, composer Howard Shore, and additional tracks tied to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. Months later he delivered his first seasonal outing, A Hollens Family Christmas. Another productive stretch in 2017 brought both his Broadway debut and a third installment of his covers series; in 2018 he unveiled the full-length Legendary Folk Songs, featuring fourteen traditional English, Irish, and American folk selections.