Peter Ostroushko
When the Last Morning Glory Blooms

  Peter Ostroushko creates unique music that sounds much older than it is. He channels a mixture of Stephen Foster, Carter Stanley, and Doc Boggs to form a stew of richly flavored Americana. On When the Last Morning Glory Blooms Ostroushko further expands his library of heartbreakingly beautiful songs performed with understated grace.

His professional musical career began in high school when he composed and played the music for a one-man staging of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." He attended the Children's Theater School in Minneapolis. Ostroushko's first paid studio session gig was on mandolin, playing on Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. Ostroushko went on to tour with Norman Blake, Chet Atkins, and Linda and Robin Williams. He has also played with Jethro Burns, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Greg Brown and John Harford. For the last 25 years Ostroushko has been a regular on A Prairie Home Companion, where millions have heard his playing in the house band.

Ostroushko has also written classical works that have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Twin Cities Public Televisioncommissioned him to provide music for their nationally distributed programs, The Dakota Conflict and Grant Wood's America. Ken Burns used music from Ostroushko's album, Heart of the Heartland, for his PBS documentary Lewis & Clarke.

Wistfulness and a sense of longing permeate most of the tunes on When the Last Morning Glory Blooms. Some of the melodies echo in your mind like something you barely recall from deep in your dreams. His song, "Down Where the River Bends," has a strong cinematic quality - the way the orchestration builds and slowly unfolds from stark gothic minimalism into a multi-part composition. Near the end the song reverts back into an etude that sounds like it came from a long-lost turn-of-the-century piano method book. Ostroushko makes powerful music from the depths of the American soul.

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