Founders

Heather Capelle is committed to ARTISTREE’s mission of educating and inspiring children through the performing arts and makes it her goal to help as many students as she can achieve their dreams through music, theater, dance and film. Heather directed and managed at Applause NY for 13 years and rose through the ranks to become President of the company before opening Artistree in Westchester, which she now calls home. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association, and her professional credits include Special Skills (a one-woman show she co-wrote with Martin Charnin–the director and lyricist of the Broadway musical Annie), several appearances on ABC’s One Life to Live and lead roles in over 30 New York and regional theater productions. Heather also has performed at Walt Disney World, for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines and the Six Flags organization. But her most important and fulfilling roles are wife to Artistree’s head musical director, Peter Capelle, and mommy to son Lucas and daughter Spencer Elizabeth. A proud native of a farm in Nash, Oklahoma, Heather holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Theater and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Peter Capelle is a composer, arranger, music director, and keyboardist active in the New York area. His compositions have been performed at Steinway Hall, The Knitting Factory, Galapagos Art Space, and The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Honors and Awards include an Orchestra Reading by the St. Paul Symphony, a commission from The Oklahoma Arts Institute, and a Silver Medal of Excellence from the Park City Film Music Festival for his score to Williamsburg Bridge – a film by Nicole Koschmann. Capelle has composed commercial jingles for MTV and in 2014 was the music director and pianist for “Annie” director and lyricist, Martin Charnin’s “Real to Reel,” performed at the Emelin Theater. He also musically directed the Off-Broadway Hit, Flanagan’s Wake in addition to several regional theater productions including Bat Boy, Hair, Rent, Working, The Wedding Singer, How to Succeed in Business, Legally Blonde, Oklahoma, Little Shop of Horrors and Into The Woods. Peter arranged music for choreographer Jason Marquette’s “The Next Step”, and composed string arrangements for original songs by Lucas Steele. He has performed with jazz vocalist Kriste Peoples, singer-songwriter Ed Hale, and was the lead keyboardist for The Infinite Orchestra. Along with his wife, Heather Capelle, he is the co-owner of ARTISTREE PERFORMING ARTS in Mamaroneck. Peter holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Master’s Degree in Music Composition from Indiana University.