Charles Berofsky is a multi-faceted 21-year old musician currently pursuing a double major in piano performance and composition at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He studies piano with Alan Chow, and he has studied composition with Robert Morris, David Liptak, and Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, as well as harpsichord with William Porter and organ with Scott Van Ornum. Born in South Bend, Indiana and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Charles began piano lessons when he was six years old; his primary piano teachers in Ann Arbor were Logan Skelton and John Ellis.

In January 2020 Charles became one of the youngest students to win a concerto competition at Eastman, performing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Piano Concerto with the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra in February during his sophomore year. He has received three composition prizes from his school as well as a recent commission from the American Guild of Organists, which resulted in a new work for solo organ. He also performed J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in F minor with a student-directed orchestra in December 2018. Other awards include honorable mention in the New York MTNA competition (Young Artist Division), first prizes in the Dearborn and Dexter Youth Artist Concerto Competitions in southeastern Michigan, and first prize in the Rosalie Edwards Youth Artists Competition in Ann Arbor.

Charles has attended various summer music festivals in past years, including Orford, Bowdoin, Brevard, and Interlochen, and has performed in Italy and Canada. During the 2017-2018 school year he served as one of the regular organists for St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Ann Arbor and was the main accompanist for the church choir. Charles enjoys playing collaboratively with other musicians, especially members of his family, and frequently accompanies peers at Eastman.