Stephen Pierce is a leader in the field of piano pedagogy, and enjoys a varied career as a teacher, presenter, performer, researcher, and adjudicator. He serves on the keyboard studies faculty at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music where he oversees the keyboard pedagogy and secondary piano programs and teaches applied piano, and courses in piano pedagogy, and keyboard literature. He is also an Academic Ambassador for the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), an RCM certified teacher, and teaches at Interlochen Arts Camp each summer.

As an experienced educator and RCM Certified Teacher, Stephen specializes in training both pianists to perform at their best and piano teachers to deliver the most effective instruction possible. His students range in age from 7 to adult and have won awards for their playing at the local, state, national, and international levels. A well-rounded and comprehensive music curriculum is at the core of Stephen’s teaching practice and he offers a combination of private lessons and group classes to his students. In addition to teaching at USC, Stephen teaches privately in Pasadena, CA.

A regular speaker and clinician throughout the US and South Africa, Stephen has presented masterclasses, workshops, and lectures at conferences such as the MTNA National Conference, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), as well as for arts entities such as The Gilmore, and the International Piano Professionals Association. His articles, reviews and other written contributions have appeared in journals such as American Music Teacher, Clavier Companion (The Piano Magazine), Piano Pedagogy Forum, The California Music Teacher, CAPMT Connect, and The South African Music Teacher, as well on the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Online Teacher Portal, RCM Online Piano Teacher courses, and the Yamaha Educator Suite. Stephen also formerly served as editor of CAPMT Connect, the official journal of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) from 2016–2022. 

Stephen has performed in the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, and South Africa, and with artists such as Carol Wincenc, and the flutists of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. During his studies in Cincinnati, he performed with the CCM Philharmonia as a result of winning the CCM Piano Concerto Competition. In South Africa, he has performed with orchestras such as the Natal Philharmonic, the National Symphony, and the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa. Stephen has won awards for his playing including second prize and two special prizes at the UNISA National Piano Competition in South Africa. He has also received awards for his teaching including the D.J. Rhoode Overseas Scholarship for Piano Pedagogy from the University of South Africa (UNISA). In addition, his performances have been broadcast on South African television and radio.

In 2023, Stephen was honored by the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) with an MTNA Foundation Fellow Award. He is currently Collegiate Chapter state chair for the California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAMPT) and formerly served as the CAPMT Vice President for Conferences and CAPMT District 9 Director. An experienced and sought-after adjudicator, Stephen is a member of the RCM College of Examiners and has served as a judge for music competitions, festivals, examinations, and eisteddfodau at the local, state, national, and international levels in the United States, Canada, and South Africa.

Stephen holds master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), undergraduate degrees from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and two licentiates of music from the University of South Africa (UNISA). At the University of Pretoria, he graduated as the top student in the Faculty of Humanities and was honored with the Vice-Chancellor and Principal’s medal for academic excellence. At CCM, he won the award for teaching excellence for graduate teaching assistants. Stephen’s mentors include Joseph Stanford, Frank Weinstock, and Michelle Conda.