Striving for Excellence
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Teaching Experience Highlights
- College Music Major Auditions
- Competition Preparation
- Music Theory, Composition, and Arranging
- Music Technology and Production
- Songwriting
- Typesetting and Engraving
Testimonial Tidbits
"Charles Szczepanek is not only an excellent pianist and artist; he is also an incomparable mentor[...] I am not merely grateful to him, I have to admit that the pianist and teacher I am today is a result of his influence. Thank you, Charles!"
--Erin Kludy
"With Charles as my teacher, I improved more in one year than I had in the previous six years with another teacher..."
--Hayden Arnold
"I found Charles in the hopes to learn “how to play piano.” He exceeded all expectations [...] He’s been instrumental in my development as an artist and even as a producer/engineer.
--Braulio Vega
"I am light years ahead of where I was just a year ago. If you are looking for a teacher who can help you reach your music goals, Charles is both a superb teacher and an excellent musician. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
--Louise Bailey
Teaching Philosophy
Studying music can and should be an enjoyable and rewarding endeavor. In order to gain that enjoyment, musical proficiency, and pianistic ability, a commitment of discipline and thought is a must, not only from the student and teacher directly participating in lessons, but also from parents of students from young ages through high school (pre-college).
In today’s age of automated and digital learning, an incredible amount of musical craft is being lost on a daily basis. There is no replacement for in-person, one-on-one music lessons with an expert who has spent a lifetime studying and performing.
Every student deserves a unique approach to their own lessons; an approach that fits their individual ability, their current strengths and weaknesses, their goals and desires for the lessons they have enrolled in, and their unique style of learning. No student is like any other, and there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to music lessons that will yield worthwhile results.
As a teacher, I strive to pass along to my students the joy of music making, the proficiency (technically and musically) to play or create the music they desire, and a lifetime of knowledge that I have obtained during my own studies with many of the greatest pianists alive as well as those no longer with us.
About Charles
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 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, 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). Szczepanek recently stepped down from a full-time music director position at Church of the Ascension in Fountain Hills, AZ after 10 years in the role. He was the Founder and Artistic Director of Arts at Ascension for 7 seasons, a concert series that benefits fine arts education for underprivileged students in inner-city schools.
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, and Paul Ostrovski.
Lessons are held on a 6’6” Kawai grand piano in excellent condition.