Praised for her 'exquisite sensitivity' and a 'style filled with class and elegance' by La Voz de Asturias (Asturias, Spain) and recognized as a 'talented player who doesn’t fit the cookie-cutter mold' by Lucid Culture (New York City), American pianist Amy E. Gustafson has performed across the United States and in both Western and Eastern Europe.
Recent performances include an appearance at the Sigal Music Museum in Greenville, SC; replacing legendary pianist Abbey Simon in Los Angeles at LACMA’s series, Sundays Live; a performance with the Sofia Sinfionetta in Sofia, Bulgaria, and a concert tour with her piano duo, Duo Azul. Other recent engagements have taken her to Spain, China, and Canada, and she has also performed New York City venues, such as Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Trinity Church Wall Street, the Tenri Cultural Institute, CAMI Hall and the Kosciuszko Foundation.
Born into a musical family, her talent was evident at an early age, and she received much of her beginning piano instruction from her grandmother. By the age of 15, she had won several local competitions, including MTNA’s Baldwin Competition, and her success led her to move to New York City to continue her studies.
Since then, Gustafson has won numerous awards, including the second prize in the International Young Artists Piano Competition, second prize in the Joyce Dutka Arts Foundation Competition, and the Special Presentation Award and the Alumni Award from Artists International Presentations, Inc.
Gustafson completed her studies at the Manhattan School of Music, New York University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Her major teachers have included Julian Martin, Andre-Michel Schub, Anton Nel, Constance Keene, and Miyoko Lotto, and she has benefited from the advice of many renowned pedagogues, including Solomon Mikowsky, Arie Vardi, Veda Kaplinsky, Robert McDonald, Paul Badura-Skoda, Marc Durand, Martin Canin, Leslie Howard, and Luiz de Moura Castro.
In addition to her performing career, Gustafson is on the piano faculty at Millersville University. She is the Executive director of the Gijón International Piano Festival and the founding director of the Palmetto International Piano Festival. Gustafson also founded and directed The Stony Brook International Piano Festival from 2008 to 2015. In 2022, Gustafson designed and created Music and Movement in a Box, which is a musical experience activity kit for kids ages 2 to 5, now available on Amazon and from www.musicandmovementinabox.com.
Amy E. Gustafson is a Yamaha Artist.
