Michael Sheppard, piano

Michael Sheppard is a pianist, conductor, and teaching artist known for performances that combine expressive depth, architectural clarity, and a disarming human warmth. Described as “a virtuosic soloist possessed of power, sensitivity, earthiness, and humor” (Whitney Smith, Indianapolis Star), and “a musician who makes audiences sit up and pay attention” (James Manheim, All Music Guide), he studied with the legendary Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory.

Sheppard has appeared throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East—including solo recitals at Carnegie Hall (Weill), the Kennedy Center, and major venues across more than a dozen countries. He has performed with orchestras such as the Indianapolis Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Duluth-Superior Symphony, Columbia Symphony, Olympia Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, and numerous international ensembles. His concerto repertoire spans Rachmaninoff, Brahms, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Bartók, Saint-Saëns, Gershwin, Tchaikovsky, and others.

A passionate chamber musician and collaborator, Sheppard has worked with Marina Piccinini, Jessica Tong, members of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Pacifica String Quartet, and many leading instrumentalists and singers. His festival appearances include the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Festival Napa Valley, the Festival Inverno do Campos do Jordão (Brazil), and residencies across Asia and the Middle East.

Equally committed to education, Sheppard serves on the collaborative piano staff at the Peabody Conservatory—where he coaches conductors, singers, and instrumentalists—and at the Baltimore School for the Arts. His masterclasses have taken him throughout the United States and around the world.

His recordings include Michael Sheppard Plays American Piano Music (Harmonia Mundi), Twelve Images (Bear Machine Records), and Through Broken Time with flutist Jennifer Grim, among others.