BIOGRAPHY
Known for his versatility, sensitivity, imagination, and colors, Joshua Pielemeier is a pianist from Washington State, currently residing in the Salt River Valley. In frequent demand in both collaborative and solo capacities, he performs widely in a variety of contexts, from accompanying choirs and vocalists, to collaborating for instrumental recitals and chamber concerts, to weddings and church services, and remains involved widely in music as an educator, composer, arranger, and organist.
Beginning his piano studies in Everett, Washington, Joshua excelled rapidly in local piano competitions, festivals, and performances, including being named a contest winner in the 2005 Seattle Young Artists’ Music Festival, going on to perform the first movement of Edward MacDowell’s Concerto No. 2 in D Minor with the Northwest Sinfonietta. He was also a medal winner in the 2004 NW Chopin Competition. Joshua went on to pursue academic studies in piano performance at the Eastman School of Music and University of Arizona. After a lengthy hiatus from school, he graduated wit his Master's of Music in Performance with a Concentration in Collaborative Piano, With Distinction, from Arizona State University in Spring 2024, under the astute direction and mentorship of of Dr. Miki Aoki and Dr. Andrew Campbell, also studying with Robert Hamilton. Joshua’s primary mentor and piano instructor has been Judy Baker, and other teachers have included Douglas Humphreys, Russell Ryan, John Milbauer, Tanis Gibson, and Marissa Ramos. He has received instruction from Gerardo Teissonnière and Leonard Richter, performed in public masterclasses for Nelita True, Barry Snyder, and Gerardo Teissonnière, and participated in chamber group coaching with the Eroica Trio and Brooklyn Rider String Quartet.
Recent performance experience includes the Piano Quintet No. 1 by Ernst von Dohnányi at the 2024 Oracle Chamber Music Festival, as well as orchestral pianist with the ASU Wind Symphony’s tour to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he had the wonderful opportunity to work closely with composers Viet Cuong, Steve Bryant, and Michael Doughtery. He has operated as a rehearsal pianist for the Valley Opera’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata, as well as their 2026 production of Donizetti’s L'elisir d'amore. Joshua Pielemeier was featured as collaborative pianist with the New Mexico Performing Arts Society, under the baton of renowned conductor Franz Vote, in Spring 2025 performances of J.S. Bach’s Cantata 21, and the world premiere of Aaron Alter’s “Cantata of Praise.” Recent pedagogy experience includes coaching chamber music at the Chaparral Chamber Music Workshop.
Joshua currently serves as liturgical pianist, organist, and recently director of the music program at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church, an inclusive and liturgical community rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. Joshua founded Ocotillo Chamber, a local ChamberConcert Series, along with colleague Dr. Julia Lougheed, to bring chamber music to Tempe, and whose mission is to pair time-honored classical repertoire along with newer works, especially by underrepresented composers. Highlights from Ocotillo Chamber’s inaugural season include the commission and world premiere of Ithaca-based composer Josh Oxford’s “Clarinet Trio”, and a performance of Olivier Messiaen’s historic Quartet for the End of Time, composed inside a Nazi prisoner of war camp, which received a standing ovation. In 2020, Joshua released A Slow Peace, an EP of nature-inspired instrumental works, including original compositions and arrangements for piano and viola.
He lives in Chandler, Arizona, with this wife and two cats, and can be found reading, walking, swimming, cooking, woodworking, exploring local eateries, and other creative endeavors.