Geoffrey Kiorpes, piano

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Dr. Geoffrey Kiorpes is a native of Greensboro, NC. He completed high school and college at the NC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, as a student of Clifton Matthews, Marian Hahn and Robert McDonald. After relocating to New York City, Kiorpes completed his Master’s and DMA at the Manhattan School of Music with Ruth Laredo and Jeff Cohen. 

Kiorpes enjoys a busy career as an educator, accompanist, and musical director. In 2016, Kiorpes co-founded the New York City Charter School of the Arts, a middle school in lower Manhattan, where he serves as Arts Director and piano teacher. His students have given recitals in New York City and have received top scores at the NYSSMA festival at NYU. Over 40% of the 2022 graduating class were accepted to audition-based NYC high schools of the arts. Dr. Kiorpes served on the faculty of the Bronx Preparatory Charter School from 2002 to 2014, as Artistic Director and piano teacher. His students received numerous awards and scholarships and performed at the state music convention and in music education classes at NYU. In 2013, his students were featured in a benefit at Steinway Hall.  

In 2006, Kiorpes gave his New York solo piano debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall as the recipient of the Artists International Award. Dr. Kiorpes’ concerto appearances include the Raleigh Symphony, the Durham Symphony, and the North Carolina School of the Arts Orchestra under conductor Otto Werner-Mueller. Kiorpes has spent summers teaching at Skidmore College and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His numerous Broadway and popular credits include serving as keyboardist for the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun with Bernadette Peters, musical director/keyboards for ‘In The Heights’ and ‘Les Mis’ in the Bronx, and arranger/pianist for the hit Off-Broadway productions of Always, Patsy Cline and The Heat is On. He has also served as music director for Broadway performers Kaye Ballard and Miss Maggie Moore, and has appeared as pianist for Tony Award winning actress Victoria Clark (The Light in the Piazza), Jackie Hoffman, and Montego Glover. A sought-after collaborator, Mr. Kiorpes has served as accompanist for the Empire City Men’s Chorus, and has accompanied the Boys Choir of Harlem and the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. He gave a live performance of Phillip Glass’ Academy Award-nominated score for the motion picture The Hours at the film’s New York City premiere at the Metropolitan Club, and has appeared with opera singer Stephanie Blythe and the Avalon String Quartet. He has presented solo recitals at Ithaca College, St. Peter’s Church in Manhattan, and UNC Greensboro, and accompanied the National Youth Choir in Carnegie Hall.  

In 2023, Dr. Kiorpes returned to the recital stage, presenting works of African American composers. Two of the recitals were at institutions where the composers had been in residency, (Bennett College/Nathaniel Dett and Rutgers/George Walker), with the third being presented as a benefit for CSA. In 2024, Kiorpes returned with a second recital, featuring 6 African American composers. 2025 brings the release of his first professional recording, entitled Black Composers, featuring works of Nathaniel Dett, Roger Dickerson, Adolphus Hailstork and John Wesley Work, III. In addition, Kiorpes is extremely excited to perform an evening of Dett’s piano works at Lane College, in Jackson, Tennessee, where Dett had his first residency from 1908-1911.