Bio

Pianist Connor Austell is a versatile musician equally at home both on the stage and in the lecture hall. A firm believer that scholarship and musicianship go hand-in-hand, Dr. Austell enjoys studying a range of musicological and theoretical topics when he is not practicing: early music, historically informed performance practice, and the history of piano pedagogy are just a few of his current interests. His love of early music was fostered by a study of harpsichord and organ technique during his undergraduate years. In 2022, Dr. Austell's work in researching and recording the piano compositions of Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins was recognized with an award by the Willson Center for Arts and Humanities at the University of Georgia. His album Blind Tom's Creative Vision, which represents the culmination of this project, is available on all streaming platforms.

Dr. Austell's teaching philosophy holds that decisions made in musical performance should be grounded in a historical, theoretical, and pedagogical understanding of the score. Dr. Austell holds degrees from the University of Georgia, the University of Michigan, and Grand Valley State University, where he studied with David Fung, Arthur Greene, and Sookkyung Cho. He studied chamber music under the tutelage of Katherine Collier, Helen Marlais, and Pablo Mahave-Veglia, and has participated in masterclasses with world-class artists such as Jonathan Biss and Martin Katz.