Andrew Santander

Andrew Santander studied piano with Gyorgy Sebok and Lev Vlassenko at the Indiana University School of Music, where he also acquired an interest in early music and the harpsichord, which he studied with Elisabeth Wright. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Piano and two Masters Degrees, in Piano and Harpsichord/Early Music, at Indiana University. Dr. Santander received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Georgia where he studied piano with Dr. Richard Zimdars.

Upon graduating, Dr. Santander was hired as Director of Instrumental Music at Gainesville State College, Gainesville, Georgia where he is currently Head of the Music Department. He also is Director of the Gainesville State College Jazz Band and Jazz Combo in which he also plays keyboards.

Dr. Santander is an active performer of both solo and chamber works. He particularly seeks opportunities to work with contemporary composers and premiere new works. This involvement has led to the composition of new works written specifically for him by many composers including Lewis Neilson. He has recorded several CDs and also won awards in several piano competitions, including a second place in the Bartok/Kabelevsky competition.

Dr. Santander has served as an adjudicator for piano competitions. He was a contributing editor to the upcoming edition of the Machlis/Forney The Enjoyment of Music.