“When I practice, teach, and perform, I require responsive action, rich resonance, and a tone of depth and complexity. This is why I always choose the Steinway piano.”
John Mortensen
John Mortensen is a leader in the international revival of historic improvisation. Appearing frequently as concert artist and masterclass teacher at colleges and universities in America and Europe, he is noted for his ability to improvise entire concerts in historic styles, including complex compositions such as Baroque fugues. His book on improvisation is forthcoming in 2019 with Oxford University Press.
He is a Steinway Artist and an Ohio Artist on Tour. In 2017 he was selected as a Fulbright Specialist by the US Department of State to serve as an international artistic ambassador on behalf of the American people.
In 2018 he toured Europe for three months, performing and teaching improvised music at conservatories across the continent.
In 2020-2021 he will undertake three international tours through Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Baltic states.
He is the creator of Improv Planet, an online school of historic improvisation, where his students include concert artists and conservatory faculty from across the world.
He serves as professor of piano at Cedarville University in Ohio. In 2016 he was named Faculty Scholar of the Year, that institution’s highest award.