St. Stephen's Lutheran Church
To Love, To Invite, To Serve
1301 N Broom Street Wilmington, DE 19806
302-652-7623 office@ststeph.org
Concerts at St. Stephen's
St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church welcomes you to the third season of its music series, Concerts at St. Stephen’s. We launched the concert series in 2018 and celebrated two seasons before taking a break in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. In the congregation’s recent history, St. Stephen’s has been recognized for raising awareness of hunger and food insecurity by hosting one of the largest food pantries in the state of Delaware. Planned with the same love that distinguishes this community of service, Concerts at St. Stephen’s presented exceptional music for the enjoyment and edification of the Wilmington community. In its belief that beautiful music is an inherent part of community worship, inspiring and enhancing our appreciation of the glory of God, St. Stephen’s offers all events free of charge and open to the general public.
We look forward to welcoming you to Concerts at St. Stephen’s!
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About the Artistic Director
Claudio Espejo is a Chilean pianist, wellness advocate, and pedagogue based in Pennsylvania. Since February 2021, he has worked as the Director of the Piano Program at Cab Calloway School of the Arts. His duties include designing and coordinating the piano curriculum, including teaching 120 students from grades 6 through 12, fostering student performances and collaborations across departments, and preparing solo performances. He actively works to continue to grow the program, working alongside private teachers to strengthen student technique and performance, while introducing improvisation and composition skills.
During 2020, Claudio was a fellow with the Global Leaders Program, a one-year fellowship that provides music teachers with access to both international teaching opportunities and a curriculum that centers around social entrepreneurship through music. As part of his capstone project, he partnered with the COMBAS Conservatory, giving performances and masterclasses in the southern region of Chile. In March, he was selected to perform at the semifinals of the Ensemble Connect competition, taking place in Carnegie Hall.
Music always struck Claudio as a deeply spiritual experience. During childhood, the connection between music and spirituality was felt through the heavenly music of the Brandenburg Concerti, and later in his teens, it transformed into a fascination with the intersection of mindfulness and performance. Both in the context of group and private lessons, Claudio is an advocate for the
use of mindfulness in learning music. He also incorporates elements of Yoga, as a certified Rainbow Kids Yoga instructor, and Dalcroze in the piano lesson.
Espejo graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a Bachelor of Music, continuing on to obtain his M.M and D.M.A. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Michigan. His primary teachers include Christopher Harding, Rebecca Penneys, Joseph Gascho, and Matthew Bengtson. Pedagogy teachers include John Ellis and Aya Higuchi.
During his free time, Claudio participates in communities with a spiritual purpose, such as the Zen Buddhist Temple or the local chapter of the Mankind Project.