Charles Szczepanek
Pianist | Composer/Arranger | Music Educator | Business Coach
Hailed by American Record Guide, Fanfare Magazine, The Arizona Republic, Piano Addict, Voyage Phoenix Magazine, and SoloPiano.com, Charles Szczepanek is an accomplished classical pianist and prize winner in the Jacob Flier International Piano Competition, the Bosendorfer USASU International Piano Competition, and the Steinway Society's "Most Promising Young Artist" Competition. He has performed on National Public Radio and in concert halls across the United States. Charles is additionally a "Steinway & Sons Educational Partner."
Charles is also a versatile musician, arranger, composer, songwriter, and producer. Work on his own projects and those collaborating with other musicians has been streamed tens of millions of times via YouTube, Spotify, Sirius XM Radio, and other major platforms. A Mason & Hamlin Artist and pioneer, composing and arranging advanced and virtuosic music, Charles is partnered with Musicnotes.com, the internet’s largest sheet music retailer, as a Signature Artist.
In addition to his solo career, Charles has performed with the 3-time Grammy Award winning Phoenix Chorale, has toured the United States as collaborative pianist for celebrated tubist Patrick Sheridan, and has extensively arranged music for notables like Paul Harvey Jr. (creator of The Rest of the Story radio show) and Anna Graceman (finalist on NBC’s America’s Got Talent). He was the Founder and Artistic Director of Arts at Ascension for 7 seasons, a concert series that raised over $120,000 to benefit fine arts education for underprivileged students in inner-city schools.
In April of 2022, Charles founded Pianist Academy, an online music education platform serving pianists from beginner levels through to the most advanced. New, free, learning content is posted regularly, and there is an ever-growing library of paid, very in-depth, video lessons that are perfect for self-taught pianists or as supplements for students who have in-person teachers.
In 2022, Charles also joined the team at The Elite Musician as Lead Coach, helping other professional musicians navigate the online business of music, realize their dreams and passions, and achieve financial success.
Most recently, Charles signed with Heart Dance Records, a woman-owned and operated instrumental label with a mission to create peaceful music for well-being to help listeners relax, reduce stress, focus, inspire, grieve, heal, meditate and calm. Charles' 2022 "All is Calm" EP, his 2023 "Moments of Reflection" EP, and his 2023 "Winter Day Dreaming, 10th Anniversary Expanded Edition" album have all been released under the Heart Dance Records label.
Szczepanek was a precollege student of Dr. Daniel Paul Horn (Wheaton College Conservatory of Music), and an undergraduate and graduate student of Professor Robert Hamilton (Arizona State University). He also studied with such notables as Vladimir Feltsman, Alexander Korsantia, Susan Starr, Phillip Kawin, Paul Ostrovski, and Alexander Slobodyanik.
Charles lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and can be seen in his free time road cycling around town and enjoying a strong espresso.
