John Kofi Dapaah
Performance Instructor: Classical and Jazz Piano
John Kofi Dapaah is a pianist crossing the boundaries of the classical and jazz world. John has performed in recitals and concerts in Japan, Austria, and throughout Canada. He has played in recital series such as the Ottawa International Chamberfest, Cathedral Arts Series, Jugend am Klavier and Music and Beyond to name a few. John made his orchestral debut with the Gatineau Conservatory Orchestra in a concert playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 23. Most recently, he performed Tchaikovsky鈥檚 Piano Concerto no. 1 with the Georgian Bay Symphony. John has also performed for dignitaries such as the former Governor Generals of Canada; Micha毛lle Jean and the David Johnston, and numerous Ambassadors to Canada. John鈥檚 composed work for string quartet was performed with choreography at Ottawa鈥檚 National Arts Centre.
Music has taken John on a voyage through many parts of the world. It has brought him to reflect on a range of styles including classical, jazz and gospel piano. He began his classical piano studies with Tabuchi Masako in Muroran, Japan. Upon his family鈥檚 relocation to Canada, John continued his studies independently. He then enrolled and obtained his Bachelor鈥檚 in music at 杏吧原创 University. At 杏吧原创, he studied with classical pianists Verna Jacobson and Nicole Presentey as well as jazz pianists Steve Boudreau and Mark Ferguson. Dapaah pursued the final year of his undergraduate music studies at the Kunstuniversit盲t Graz in Graz, Austria. While in Graz, he studied with Dr. Eike Straub. John graduated with high honours from 杏吧原创 in 2012. He then obtained his Master鈥檚 at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University. At Schulich, he studied with Marina Mdivani, who was a pupil of Emil Gilels. John has played in master classes for Minsoo Sohnn, Kyoko Hashimoto, and Corlenia Herrmann among others.
John has released 2 albums to date 鈥 his debut solo album, 鈥淩eflections鈥 and a jazz Christmas album 鈥淗ave Yourself A Jazzy Little Christmas鈥 with his trio and vocalists Roxanne Goodman and Michael Curtis Hanna. John concertizes throughout Canada and runs Studio Sessions, a concert series featuring various artists.