Stephen Carlson, pianist
A member of the Bemidji State University Music Department since 2006, pianist Dr. Stephen Carlson is a versatile soloist and chamber musician who has performed at many colleges, universities, and festivals throughout the Midwest, Southeastern U.S. and Eastern Canada.

In 2005, Dr. Carlson made his highly regarded New York debut as a solo recitalist in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. From 1995 to 2003, he appeared at Minnesota Valley Sommarfest (St. Peter, MN) where he performed an array of solo and collaborative works. One-half of the McKay-Carlson Piano Duo, Carlson has also performed chamber music with members of the South Carolina Philharmonic as well as the Charleston and Greenville (SC) Symphonies. He was appointed to the Performing Artist Roster of the South Carolina Arts Commission and remains in demand as a performer, adjudicator and clinician.

He completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and pedagogy at the University of Iowa where he studied with Uriel Tsachor. He is also a graduate of the University of Illinois and Gustavus Adolphus College where he studied with Ian Hobson and John McKay, respectively.

Prior to coming to Bemidji State where he is Assistant Professor of Music and Coordinator of the Piano Area, Carlson was a tenured faculty member at Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina. He has also taught piano at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, Gustavus Adolphus College and St. Josephs School of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota.