Born in Markaryd on the 26th April, 1954. At the age of sixteen he received his Cantor’s Certificate and then went on to study organ, improvisation and composition with Professor Anton Heiller at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna from 1973 to 1977. He completed his studies in Vienna with a Diploma in the performance of church music and the comment “mit einstimmiger Auszeichnung“. Since 1978 Petersson has been organist in Älmhult where he is involved in a variety of church music activities.
Petersson has also studied pedagogy and musicology at Lund University as well as studying composition with Knut Nystedt in Oslo from 1989 to 1990.
For the most part Per Gunnar Petersson’s output consists of church music. His compositions have been performed throughout the Nordic countries, in Europe and in North America. Many of his works have been commissioned. Petersson has represented Sweden at the Nordic Church Music Meetings in Oslo, Reykjavik and Gothenburg. From 1984 to 1988 he was president of the Swedish Organ Society and he has been a member of the Society of Swedish Composers (FST) since 1993.