Peter Ostroushko

Peter Ostroushko (born August 12, 1953) is an American violinist and mandolinist.

Of Ukrainian ancestry, Ostroushko grew up in northeast Minneapolis. He has released numerous recordings and is a regular performer on the A Prairie Home Companion radio program.

Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Mandolin

Ostroushko's first recording session was an uncredited mandolin player on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. He has toured with Robin and Linda Williams, Norman Blake and Chet Atkins. Ostroushko also worked with Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Johnny Gimble, Greg Brown, John Hartford and the New Orleans-based rock/blues band The Radiators [1], among many others.

Orchestral

Ostroushko has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Ostroushko's compositions have been performed by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Sinfonia, the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, the Des Moines Symphony and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra. In 2009, he played with the Minnesota Youth Symphonies at Orchestra Hall. Music from Heart of the Heartland was used by Ken Burns for the PBS documentary Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery and his arrangement of "Sweet Betsy from Pike" was used in Burns' Mark Twain.

Television and radio

Ostroushko has appeared on television on Austin City Limits, Late Night with David Letterman, and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, as well as performing regularly on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion.

Awards

Ostroushko received a regional Emmy award for his soundtrack to the 2005 PBS series Minnesota: A History of the Land.

Ostroushko is married to public radio producer Marge Ostroushko. They have one daughter, Anna.

• Sluz Duz Music (1985) Rounder
• Down the Streets of My Old Neighborhood (1986) Rounder
• Buddies of Swing (1987) Red House
• Blue Mesa (1989) Red House
• Duo (1991) Red House (with Dean Magraw)
• Heart of the Heartland (1995) Red House
• Pilgrims on the Heart Road (1997) Red House
• Sacred Heart (2000) Red House
• Meeting on Southern Soil (2002) Red House (with Norman Blake)
• Coming Down from Red Lodge (2003) Red House
• Minnesota: A History of the Land (2005) Red House
• The Heartland Holiday Concert (2005) Red House
• Postcards (2006) Red House
• The Mando Boys Live: Holstein Lust (2006) Borderland
• Peter Joins the Circus (2008)
• When the Last Morning Glory Blooms (2010) (Red House)