Meet Dr. Aaron Stampfl
Degrees and Experience
- D.M., Northwestern University
- P.D., Indiana University
- M.M., Indiana University
- B.M., Wheaton College
Biography and Professional Achievements
Pianist Dr. Aaron Stampfl maintains an active solo and chamber music schedule both nationally and internationally, with appearances at the Chicago Cultural Center, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Metallener Saal at Vienna’s Musikverein. As a chamber artist, he performs regularly across a wide range of ensembles and genres. He has collaborated with renowned operatic tenor Lawrence Brownlee and Tony Award-winning soul singer Heather Headley. He frequently performs with pianist Elena Cholakova in piano duo and duet repertoire, with recent appearances in Austria and Bulgaria.
An ardent Lisztian, Stampfl is a lifetime member of the American Liszt Society and performed at its national festival in 2017. His doctoral dissertation, Interpreting the Extra-Musical Associations of Liszt’s Deuxième Année: Italie, explores the inspirations behind Franz Liszt’s Italie. He is also an enthusiast of Harlem stride pianist James P. Johnson and has presented on his music at the Colorado State Music Teachers Association Conference, the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy.
A versatile performer across genres, Stampfl was a member of the Chicago-based indie-pop band Ultra Sonic Edukators. The band recorded under the direction of Brian Bell of the Grammy-winning rock group Weezer, and their release on YMA Records earned recognition from Rolling Stone Magazine. Stampfl’s bands have shared the stage with artists including Sleeping At Last, The Fray, Local H, and Gregg Allman.
Stampfl currently serves as Associate Professor and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Colorado Christian University’s School of Music. He has previously taught at DePaul University, Roosevelt University, and Wheaton College in Chicago. His students have been prizewinners in MTNA competitions at the state, regional, and national levels. He is co-founder and co-chair of the Colorado Peaks Piano Competition and also serves as chair of the music committee for Denver’s longstanding concert series, Friends of Chamber Music.
Dr. Stampfl earned a Doctor of Music degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where he studied piano with Alan Chow and Sylvia Wang. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music under Daniel Paul Horn. He studied piano and chamber music with Shigeo Neriki, Evelyn Brancart, and János Starker at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he received both a Master’s degree and a Performance Diploma.
Aaron Stampfl is a Yamaha Artist.