Peter Gambie studied music at Dartington College of Arts and at the University of Reading. His principal studies were composing and choral conducting; he also admits to a limited facility on piano and trombone. He studied composing under the dominating figure of Helen Glatz, who was a disciple of Gustav Holst. A pervasive Holstian legacy existed at Dartington during Peter's formative years as a composer; Imogen Holst's conducting style was also pervasive.
As an orchestral conductor, his repertoire is varied, including many symphonies by Haydn and Mozart; the concerti grossi of Bach and Vivaldi; and, due to the Dartington influence, many of Holst's orchestral works. Apart from working with a variety of Youth Orchestras, Peter has also conducted The Band of the Royal Marines, the Central Band of the Royal Airforce and the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He has appeared several times at the South Bank, including conducting performances of Holst's Planet's Suite, Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, and Walton's Façade at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Much of Peter's early work as a composer involved writing for synthesiser and electronic keyboard. Three of his pieces (’olus, Nereus and Collage) have been performed at the South Bank in avant-garde series between 1984 and 1989. He has returned to a less experimental style within the last decade, as exemplified in Missa in Memoriam - an 8-part unaccompanied mass written for the Renaissance Choir. With the Renaissance Choir, Peter has resurrected a number of forgotten 16th century masses and motets by composers such as Brumel, Josquin and Lassus. Under Peter's direction, the choir has performed several major works with orchestra, including Bach's Magnificat, the Nelson Mass by Haydn and a number of Gabrieli's Sacrae Sinfoniae. The unaccompanied repertoire includes Tallis' 40-part motet Spem in Alium and Rachmaninov's Vespers, along with many masses by Palestrina, Byrd and Victoria.