Department of Music

Pianist John Mayhood enjoys a busy performance schedule that in recent seasons has taken him across the North America and Europe in a wide variety of solo and collaborative settings and in repertoire that spans from the English virginalists to music of the present day.  His concerts often explore the works of a single composer, combining solo piano and chamber music – he has dedicated complete evenings to the works of Poulenc, Hindemith, Feldman, and Schubert, and to new works by emerging composers.  He has recently given world premieres of works by Matthew Burtner, Daniel Kessner, and James Sochinski, and the US premiere of Bruce Mather’s Doisy Daëne III.  His performances are often featured on NPR, CBC, and SRC radio, and his recordings can be heard on Ravello Records and the EcoSono label.

Also a scholar, he has presented work on ‘transformational theory’ and ‘theory and performance’ at the University of Chicago and at the annual meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie.  His main interest is the philosophy of music, particularly meaning in abstract music and the philosophy of performance.

John holds the Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Ian Hobson; his other major teachers are Caio Pagano and Jean-Paul Sévilla.  He has taught piano at the University of Illinois and philosophy at Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.  He currently resides in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he is head of the piano faculty at the University of Virginia.