Meet Stephen Cook | Pianist. Educator. Oracle Piano Society Founder and Artistic Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephen Cook and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephen, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
I am a concert pianist because I intensely love classical music and want to share it with as many people as possible.

I feel that this urge to connect with others via great art is what culture is all about and that building culture is the primary task of any artist.

This charge to ‘carry the torch’ through culture building guides all of my creative activities.

It is what inspired me to design artistic fusion concerts that merge musical performances with other art forms and also to create the performing arts education nonprofit, the Oracle Piano Society.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am most interested in building culture through my performance projects featuring artistic fusion and through the Oracle Piano Society nonprofit that I created in 2012.

My performance projects seek to strip away the formality and rigidity that has emerged in the modern piano recital tradition and to bring musical meaning to the forefront by highlighting relationships between music, painting, poetry, and other art forms.

I collaborated with Radio Hall of Famer, Paul Harvey, Jr. to create a one-man-show called ‘Picture Rachmaninoff,’ presented ‘Celestial Concerts’ featuring music with projected astrophotography of Adam Block, performed Halloween ‘Phantasmagoria’ and Mardi Gras masquerade concerts, and even performed wine tasting concerts, pairing locally made wines with the music of Maurice Ravel.

My most recent project, called ‘Picturing Rachmaninoff,’ is a printed book featuring my recordings of Rachmaninoff’s piano music presented with corresponding paintings by great artists and poems in translation by Dr. Alyssa Gillespie. This book is available for purchase online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

In addition to my performing activities, I dedicate a great deal of my time to my work as Artistic Director of the Oracle Piano Society, a nonprofit that serves the rural community of Oracle, Arizona.

This organization owns and operates the Oracle Center for the Arts where thriving cultural outreach programs are presented. We host an annual concert series featuring world-class performers from around the country, an annual chamber music festival, a conservatory, a community chorale, and a community concert series. We also present art exhibits in our lobby space.

Our conservatory serves at-risk youth living in the rural communities of Oracle, Mammoth, San Manuel, and surrounding areas. These students would otherwise not have access to such opportunities.

Our students receive free music lessons taught by accomplished faculty members, participate in our annual Chamber Music Festival, receive master classes from our world-renowned Signature Series guest-artists, and serve as apprentices to the Artistic Director where they provide volunteer services and gain valuable insight into arts nonprofit leadership.

We are steadily working to expand this program which, when fully realized, will rival any music education offering currently available throughout the country.

Building a nonprofit from scratch has not been easy. It requires total dedication and the ability to persevere despite ever-changing obstacles.

A notable example of one such challenge occurred during the 2020 pandemic; an event that could have meant disaster for the Oracle Piano Society.

In order to continue fulfilling our mission during this time, I devised a plan to present safe, drive-in concerts outside of our arts center. Concert attendees parked in our lot and tuned their radios to our pirate fm station which was transmitting the audio of live performances presented outdoors by our guest artists. Using this format, we were able to safely present a full season of live concerts when almost all other performing arts organizations were shuttered.

While building a nonprofit arts organization in a rural community continues to present great challenges, I take great pride in knowing that, as a direct result of our actions, we are building vital cultural opportunities in a place where they otherwise would not exist.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I spend a lot of time in the beautiful, high desert community of Oracle just north of Tucson.

If I were going to stay for a few days, I would book a room at the beautiful historic El Rancho Robles guest ranch. I would start my day with coffee and breakfast at the amazing new Way of Bean Coffee Club.

I might take a hike at the Oracle State Park and then head to Patio Cafe for lunch.

Of course, I would have to catch a world-class 3 pm Sunday concert at Oracle Piano Society’s Oracle Center for the Arts.

Then I would head to Casa Rivera for delicious Mexican food.

Finally, I would make my way to the Ore House for a drink on their stunning patio.

The next day, I would head to Arizona Zipline Adventures for some outdoor fun.

I would make sure to schedule my trip so that I could catch the unique Glow Festival at the Triangle L Art Ranch and would come back for the Oracle Artist’s Studio Tour.

Oracle is a strikingly picturesque place full of culture and wonderful, creative people. I highly recommend a visit to this unique destination.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Throughout my years of studying classical piano performance, I worked with many inspiring mentors. These individuals shaped who I am as an artist and I feel great responsibility to pass on what I have learned from them through my own teaching and performing.

The two individuals who most shaped my values and craftsmanship as a pianist are Professors Robert Hamilton and Eteri Andjaparidze.

I was fortunate that Robert Hamilton, an Arizona State University Professor, accepted me into his studio while I was just a sophomore high school student.

I completed a bachelor’s degree with him and ultimately came back to finish my doctorate in his studio as well.

Robert Hamilton is the pinnacle example of a role model who has dedicated his life to service. He is a great pianist and possesses treasured musical wisdom which he generously and lovingly shares with his students. He is also a wonderful, kind, human being.

Robert Hamilton brought me to piano festivals where I studied with other great artists including Eteri Andjaparidze, who became my professor at DePaul University when I was completing my masters and performer’s certificate.

Her teaching style heavily emphasized the interconnected arts. With the many studio concerts she presented in Chicago, she formed a loyal community of audience members. This made classical music feel vibrant and alive and provided a model for what could be done to build culture in any community.

I owe a great debt of gratitude to both of these individuals for their many years of mentorship.

Website: www.stephencookpianist.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephencookpianist/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sbcpianist

Other: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/picturing-rachmaninoff-2023-interactive-edition-stephen-cook/1143136845

Image Credits
Some of the photos were taken by photographer Steve Weiss.