Bio
A student of legendary pianist and teacher Martin Katz, John completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano at the University of Michigan in 2025, where he also received his Master of Music degree. He currently lives in Denver with his wife, dog, and cat, where he serves as the Artist in Residence Collaborative Pianist at Opera Colorado. Next season, he will be joining the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
John attended the Franz Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wien, a summer intensive focusing on the study of German art song, and he performed in the American Song Institute led by Thomas Hampson at the University of Michigan in 2022. Most recently, he was awarded the inaugural Collaborative Pianist Prize for the George Shirley Vocal Competition in 2025.
An Illinois native, John graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. In 2017 his own composition, Piano Trio no. 1 “Greenwood”, won first prize in the Northern Illinois University Chamber Competition, and was recorded and featured on WNIU 97.9 Public Radio. Other recordings of his collaborative performances have been featured on songofamerica.net, as well as Iowa Public Radio.