Charles Berofsky

Biography

Born in 2000, Charles Berofsky is a multi-faceted American pianist and composer, currently attending the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he studies piano with Alan Chow. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Charles began piano lessons when he was six years old; his primary teachers have been 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 No. 5 with the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra in February. He also performed J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto in F minor with a student orchestra in December 2018. Other awards include honorable mention in the New York MTNA competition (Young Artist Division) and first prizes in the Dearborn and Dexter Youth Artist Concerto Competitions, as well as first prize in the Ann Arbor Rosalie Edwards Youth Artists Competition.

Charles enjoys pursuing various disciplines and is a double major in piano performance and composition at Eastman. He has studied the latter with Robert Morris, David Liptak, and Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez. He has also studied harpsichord with William Porter and organ with Scott Van Ornum. Charles has received two composition prizes from his school as well as a recent commission from the American Guild of Organists, and has composed music for a short film, "Midwestern", produced by students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Charles is passionate about collaborative playing, both with his peers and family members. With his father Aaron Berofsky, professor of violin at the University of Michigan, Charles has been featured twice on the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s online concert series during the 2020-2021 season, and the Berofsky Piano Quartet (comprised of the four immediate memebers of the Berofsky famaily) has produced online performances for the Ann Arbor Symphony and the Chautauqua Institute.

Charles has attended various summer music festivals in past years, including Orford, Bowdoin, Brevard, and Interlochen, and will be attending Chautauqua in the summer of 2021. He has given solo recitals in Ann Arbor, as well as having performed internationally in Italy and Canada.