Peter Dijkstra, born in the Netherlands in 1978, studied choral conducting, orchestral conducting and voice at the conservatories of The Hague, Köln and Stockholm, and graduated summa cum laude with decoration. Furthermore he followed masterclasses with leading choral conductors like Tonu Kaljuste and Eric Ericsson. In 2002 he was awarded the Kersjes-van de Groenekanprize for young orchestral conductors and winning the first prize at the Eric Ericson Competition 2003 in Stockholm launched his international career.