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Dr. Mark Stevens serves as associate professor of piano and director of keyboard studies at South Dakota State University.

Stevens enjoys a dynamic career as a solo pianist, collaborative artist, teacher and adjudicator. His experience as a pianist ranges from traditional piano repertoire to contemporary music, with a focus on works written in the past 50 years. An active commissioner, he recently performed the world premieres of 10 new pieces composed by a range of early to middle career American-identifying composers. In recital, he engages audiences through thematic programming, juxtapositions of unique repertoire and colorful insights about music, composers and cultural context.

Stevens serves as director of keyboard studies and assistant professor of piano at South Dakota State University. An active and committed teacher for 25 years, he has repeatedly been awarded for the quality of his instruction. His students have won dozens of prizes in competitions and gone on to enjoy further success in professional teaching, graduate studies and university music programs. He is regularly invited to adjudicate and teach throughout U.S., offering masterclasses and workshops for universities, professional organizations, private studios and music academies. As president of the South Dakota Music Teachers Association, he is active in service to his profession at the state level and beyond.

Stevens holds graduate degrees in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the University of Oregon and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He completed his undergraduate studies in piano performance at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. He has served as a member of the faculty at Washington State University, the University of Oregon, the Chopin Academy of Music and as a visiting instructor at Cornish College of the Arts. His primary teachers include Dean Kramer, Paul Barnes, Peter Mack, David Riley and Judith Schoepflin.