Peter Sellars is internationally known for his interpretations of classics and his advocacy of 20th century and contemporary music. His work illuminates the power of art as a means of moral expression and social action.

He staged operas, among others. at De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam, the English National Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Opéra national de Paris, for the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the Salzburg Festival. He has collaborated on numerous works with the composers John Adams and Kaija Saariaho. In Berlin he staged Bach's St. Matthew and St. John Passion for the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Simon Rattle. Recent productions include Tyshawn Sorey's Monochromatic Light (Afterlife) for the Park Avenue Armory in New York, Heinrich Schütz's Musikalische Exequien with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, a revival of Tristan und Isolde in Paris and a production of Sorey's Perle Noire: Meditations for Josephine in Amsterdam.

Peter Sellars is Distinguished Professor in the Department of World Arts and Cultures and founding director of the Boethius Institute at UCLA. He has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, the Erasmus Prize for Contributions to European Culture, the Gish Prize, and the Polar Music Prize, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.