Like so many of the great success stories of the past, the tale of GREGORIAN also began from humble origins. No one could have predicted the level of success that would eventually be realized by one man’s ingenious creation.
And yet… If we turn our gaze back all the way to the beginning, before the gold and platinum awards and the millions of recordings sold. If we stopped at each country visited, paid homage to every city played and reignited the millions of hearts around the world that have been touched by the emotive music and stunning spectacles of GREGORIAN. We would discover that at one point it was all nothing more than the infant flicker of an idea. An idea from a man who had the audacity to merge two separate worlds.
In the year of 1989 a young Frank Peterson walked contemplatively through the royal monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial in Spain. The grounds of the medieval monastery left an indelible mark on his soul. Accompanying Peterson as he walked was the faint sound of modern-day music playing quietly through the headphones of his Walkman. Moved by the stark contrast of these two colliding worlds the initial idea of mixing ancient Gregorian music with modern day hits took hold of Peterson and the rest, as they say, is history.
Peterson initially brought the idea to life for the first time with Michael Cretu with the worldwide sound phenomenon Enigma. The first album MCMXC a.D. appeared in 1990 and quickly became a worldwide success story. MCMXC a.D. was number 1 in 41 different countries and received 57 platinum and 45 gold medals. It is consequently considered the most successful German album of all time.
The success of Enigma prompted Peterson to take a step forward with his initial idea of GREGORIAN. He established GREGORIAN as an independent music act. Their first album “Masters Of Chant” followed Peterson’s previous success with Enigma seamlessly. Over the following years GREGORIAN has sold more than 10 million recordings worldwide with 21 CDs & 9 DVDs, and has achieved gold and platinum status in 24 different countries. So far the Gregorian repertoire consists of almost 300 songs, ranging from classical music to pop standards and contemporary rock tracks of the last 40 years.
The concert productions themselves further reflect the individual creativity of Frank Peterson who has produced breath-taking shows in arenas, theatres, and churches that thrill fans and critics in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Almost 3 million visitors have watched GREGORIAN live at their concerts in 35 countries. To experience GREGORIAN live is to witness an audio and visual spectacle that in 20 years to date has never failed to procure a standing ovation from the public.
In 2015 GREGORIAN announced the end of the Masters Of Chant Saga with the album “The Final Chapter” which climbed to #8 in the German charts. The accompanying tour led GREGORIAN to over 80 cities across Europe.
In 2020 GREGORIAN celebrated its 20th anniversary and announced an extensive World Tour. Due to the Covid situation the tour came to an early halt with 25 shows being postponed to early 2022.
On December 17, 2021 GREGORIAN released their first ever PURE CHANTS album, featuring mainly classical choral works and hymns plus some folk and pop favourites. The album release will be followed by their PURE CHANTS world tour, set for all of 2023, where GREGORIAN will play more than 180 shows across Europe, Asia, North and South America.
In 2023, GREGORIAN started the PURE CHANTS WORLD TOUR, which covered much of Europe and came to the USA and Mexico for the very first time.
In 2025 GREGORIAN will start their big 25 YEARS ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR.
Frank Peterson was born in 1963 in Hamburg. After six years in Munich, Madrid and Ibiza, he now works in Hamburg and Miami, Florida. Peterson is founder of GREGORIAN and owner of Nemo Studios and omeN Music Publishing.
In addition to GREGORIAN, Frank Peterson has also produced and or composed tracks for artists such as Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, Enigma, Ofra Haza, Alannah Myles, José Carreras, Placido Domingo, Paul Stanley, Josh Groban, Tom Jones, Backstreet Boys, Marky Mark, Nevio und Sandra. He has also contributed to numerous compositions and productions of international film scores and advertising campaigns.
