Justin Colwell began playing the piano at age four and has enjoyed making music as a collaborative artist, music director, and occasional composer ever since. As an undergraduate in his native central Indiana, he performed as a soloist with the Marion Philharmonic Orchestra (2014; Marion, IN) and won the collegiate division of the 2016 Indiana Music Teachers Association Hoosier Audition. Recent projects include a debut solo album the fires & the river: piano music for modern dance (2021), collaboration on the piano duo accompaniment for Side by Side by Sondheim with Grand Valley State University Opera Theatre (GVSU; Allendale, MI; 2021), and performances of the Mozart and Brahms requiems in chamber orchestration with Grand Rapids Community College choirs (GRCC; Grand Rapids, MI; 2023-24).
Today, Justin’s work revolves around performing and teaching music in community spaces in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He currently serves as the Faculty Accompanist at GRCC and Music Director at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan (ASCC). With his spouse Melia, he co-owns Yellow Door Music Studio and Joyful Sounds Music Studio, offering comprehensive music education services to families in the region. Justin has previously served as a collaborative pianist for Jenison High School (Jenison, MI), Hope College (Holland, MI), GVSU, and ASCC. His teaching experience includes over 5 years of collegiate group piano at GVSU and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and over 12 years of private piano instruction.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance & Humanities from Indiana Wesleyan University (Marion, IN; piano studies with Phoenix Park-Kim, conducting studies with Jason Thompson) and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the UMKC Conservatory (piano studies with Robert Weirich). Outside of classical music, Justin’s favorite things include parenting his children Margot & Lawrence, cooking, walks in his Westside neighborhood, the poetry of Mary Oliver, the On Being podcast, American roots music, and spreadsheets.
