Born in Belgium and active in Australia over 30 years, Peelman has received numerous accolades for his commitment to the creative arts in Australia, the NSW Award for “the most outstanding contribution to Australian Music by an individual’ in 2005, named ‘musician of the year’ by the Sydney Morning Herald in 2006, and regularly featured as one of the most influential people in the Australian arts scene. Best known for his 25 year transformative directorship of The Song Company, he has instigated new work across a broad field. Since 2015 he has been at the helm of the Canberra International Music Festival.