Dr. Joseph Bognar is Assistant Professor of Music at Valparaiso University where he teaches piano, harpsichord, and music theory. Dr. Bognar completed undergraduate studies in piano and organ at Valparaiso University where he graduated summa cum laude. Awarded two university fellowships, Bognar studied piano with internationally renowned accompanist John Wustman at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1996 he made his professional debut with violinist Irena Muresanu in a radio broadcast recital from the Krannert Center for
the Performing Arts.

Dr. Bognar performs in dozens of recitals each
year on piano, harpsichord and organ. As a proponent of contemporary music, he has premiered piano solo works of composer Stephen Wilcox throughout the US, including a performance at the Peabody Conservatory of Music, and has recorded Wilcox's work for the Capstone record label.

He has served on the faculties of the Maud Powell Music Festival, Lutheran Summer Music, and the Stamford International Music Festival. As a member of the Castillon
Piano Trio, he has toured the United Kingdom, receiving acclaim for "his superb technique....one could only marvel at this talented performer." (Evening Telegraph, UK)

As a performer-scholar, Dr. Bognar has presented lecture-recitals on the works of Faure and Schubert. His doctoral research explores Schubert's compositional
self-borrowing in the construction of operatic arias. His article, "J.C. Bach's Temistocle: Detecting the Reform Spirit in Eighteenth Century Opera Seria," appears in volume XIV of the Music Research Forum.

Office: VUCA 2512
Tel: (219) 464-6782
E-mail: Joseph.Bognar@valpo.edu

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