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Stanley Chepaitis is a recognized artist whose accomplishments span those of a jazz performer and educator, conductor, composer, as well as success in classical music as violinist, concertmaster, and teacher. He has performed both jazz and classical repertoire on concert stages in Europe and America and collaborated with David Diamond, John Blake, and Diane Monroe. In 1978, Stanley met Joe Venuti and, after playing for the jazz legend, Stanley was invited to perform with his idol for the remaining two weeks Venuti's concert tour.
Stanley's recent appearances in Washington State, Idaho, Kansas, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Mexico blend his talents as performer, educator, and conductor, as do the repeat engagements he receives annually from numerous Suzuki Institutes throughout the country. In March '08, he presented a Jazz Concert with Darol Anger, Martin Norgaard, and Renata Bratt, at the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) National Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He also chaired the Alternative Styles wing of that Conference. Since 2003 he has presented at National ASTA conferences in Columbus, OH, Reno, Kansas City, and Detroit; teaching how to integrate alternative string techniques into high school music curriculums.
He studied jazz composition and improvisation with John Blake, Bill Dobbins, and Rayburn Wright, with further improvisation study under saxophonist John Vitali and pianist Tony Caramia, and spent a year studying under Floyd Williams, drummer for Duke Ellington. Continuing to create artistic opportunities, Stanley is a founding member of the Litton Quartet and the Gorell Trio. He regularly organizes performances of jazz, baroque, and classical music, often combining these in unusual crossover compositions.
Stanley's international performances include engagements at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Croatia, the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a special jazz program for an audience of German music teachers at the Hoeschulle in Hanover, Germany. In the states, he has presented concerts at the Eastman School's Kilbourne Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Krannert Center, in Champagne, Illinois. He has premiered his own music at the Pleshakov Music Center in Hudson, NY, the University of Wisconsin, and Bucknell University.
Stanley has taught on the faculties of Central Michigan University, Allegheny College, Hendricks College and Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he is currently Chair of the String Department. He attended Hart College of Music and received the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree as well as the coveted Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. He studied violin with John Celentano and Renato Bonacini.