Composer Jean Eichelberger Ivey taught summer workshops for school music teachers in electronic music at the Peabody Institute beginning in 1967. In the fall of 1969, Peabody opened its year-round Electronic Music Studio with regular courses for conservatory students. It was the first such studio in Maryland, and was one of the first anywhere to be located in a conservatory.

In that first full season, electronic works composed in the new studio by Ivey and her students were heard in public concerts at Peabody, at New York's Carnegie Recital Hall, and on radio and television. Annual concerts have continued since that time, often featuring collaborations with performing musicians, dance, film, and special visuals. Works from other studios and by many distinguished guest composers have also been presented.

Frequent public lectures and demonstrations have extended the studio’s educational role beyond its immediate students to a wider audience. A burgeoning expansion of musical resources came with the addition of computers. The affiliation of Peabody with the Johns Hopkins University in 1977 made extension into this field possible, initially utilizing computers, advanced technology, and expertise available throughout the university.

The Computer Music Studio was established by Geoffrey Wright in 1982. In the same year he and McGregor Boyle founded the Computer Music Consort as a professional performance group in residence at Peabody, to expand the already established tradition of presenting high-level musical performances including electronics and multimedia collaborations with diverse artists. The studio presented several high-profile public events coinciding with major anniversaries of the department.

In 1989 the Electronic and Computer Music Studios joined into a single department and inaugurated a new Master of Music degree in Computer Music with specialized tracks in composition, performance/concert production, and research/technology.

The Prix d'Été competition, established by Walter Summer in 1994 and continuing to be hosted annually by the Computer Music Department, encourages Peabody graduate and undergraduate composition students to create chamber music that explores new instrumental, vocal, computer and multimedia horizons.

In 1993 the Sidney M. Friedberg Lecture Series in Music and Psychology was founded to bring distinguished musicians and psychologists to Peabody Conservatory and Johns Hopkins University. An annual lecture was offered through the end of the 1990s.

The Peabody/Johns Hopkins Office of Technology Transfer was formed in 1996 and assumed the name Peabody Ventures to represent Peabody's intellectual property pertaining to "music, science and vision." Peabody Venutres was commissioned by Times Square 2000 to provide the ceremonial music and performances for the Millennium New Year's Celebration in Times Square, New York. Conductor Forrest Tobey performed the Virtual Digital Orchestra and composer Charles B. Kim wrote five pieces for the event. Geoffrey Wright was the artistic director and Edmund Pirali was the technical director.

The Peabody Computer Music Department remains an active department at the Peabody Conservatory.

(Adapted from https://peabody.jhu.edu/academics/instruments-areas-of-study/computer-music/history/, accessed 2023 May 8, and from "40 Years of Looking to the Future: A Multimedia Concert" [program], 2009 November 3, Peabody Institute concert programs, PIRG.11.02.)