Andrew Skepasts

I am a guitarist, educator and composer based in Vancouver, Canada. I recently graduated from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, completing a BFA with Honors in December 2018. Since moving to New York, I have been able to study with some of the world’s finest musicians, including many I grew up listening to such as Lage Lund, Aaron Parks and Peter Bernstein. These experiences have given me an insight into music that I could not have gained otherwise, as well as opened me up to different varieties of jazz and styles of music. You can find me playing in jazz venues around the city such as ShapeShifter Lab.

Music has always been a part of my life, beginning to play my first instrument, the piano, at two years of age. Then, at the age of nine, I started learning the guitar. Like most young musicians at that age, I began this part of my musical journey, focusing on rock, winning the Shredding Contest in the under 19 category at the Vancouver Guitar show when I was fourteen. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I became a dedicated jazz musician, discovering a true passion for this genre. During my high school years, I was featured in many honor ensembles and won numerous awards, the most notable being Most Outstanding Guitarist at MusicFest Canada, a national level high school music festival, in both 2013 and 2014. In the summer of 2016, I was selected to play in the Ottawa Youth Jazz Summit, an ensemble put together to feature Canada's top jazz musicians under the age of 25. I was honored to have my musicianship recognized by winning the Stingray Rising Stars Award.