Critics have hailed the powerful performances of pianist Steven Spooner and noted that the “American had everything: polished technique, musical intelligence, innate sensitivity, and a personality that reaches across the keyboard.” Steven has performed around the world and is quickly becoming one of the more noted American pianists of his generation. He has performed at a host of prestigious venues such as the Salle Cortot, Holland's Vredenburg Centre, Budapest's Great Hall of the Liszt Academy, Geneva's Fête de la Musique, and numerous halls across Europe, Latin America, South America, and the United States.  Dr. Spooner is now performing an enormous recital series akin to Anton Rubinstein's historic recitals of 1885. These historic concerts consist of 17 solo piano recitals embracing much of the standard piano literature.

He is a top prize winner at both the Hilton Head International Piano Competition and the Artlivre International Piano Competition. He also holds prizes from the New Orleans International Piano Competition and was recently nominated by the American Pianists Association to be one of two pianists to compete at the International Dvorák Piano Competition in Prague. His performance at the 1999 International Liszt Competition was a sensational success that resulted in several return invitations to Holland. Russian piano legend and Moscow Conservatory Professor Viktor Merzhanov commented, “His performances possess the deep understanding of the contents of Liszt's works, organic and instinctive feeling of form and outstanding virtuosity. The crystal-clear enunciation of each tone and the feeling of phrasal climaxes and structure are also worth mentioning. His pianistic art must attract more attention from concert organizers around the world.”

Dr. Spooner's orchestral engagements include performances with the Danubia Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Crescent City Symphony, New Orleans Civic Symphony, Ozark Chamber Orchestra, São Paulo Philharmonic, and the Kremlin Chamber Orchestra. His diversity was evident in collaboration with vocalists at the Paris Conservatory where he was awarded First Prize and recipient of the Niekamp career grant for most outstanding pianist in the interpretation of French Art Song. He is an active chamber collaborator and has performed with some of the brightest instrumental stars of today including, international bass sensation Daxun Zhang, former Philadelphia Orchestra Trombonist, M. Dee Stewart, and prize-winning violinist Leor Maltinsky.  

Dr. Spooner has released two solo recordings of works by Schubert and Liszt on EMR Classics and has recorded a large portion of the standard vocal literature for Everythingmusic, makers of Maestro software. Steven has studied at Loyola University, Paris Conservatory, Moscow and Tbilisi Conservatories in the former Soviet Union, and has completed his doctorate in performance and literature at Indiana University, Bloomington. He has served as guest artist-in-residence at the Paris Conservatory Summer Sessions and was most recently Coordinator of Accompanying at Indiana University. A dedicated teacher, Steven currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho and specializes in workshops and lectures on piano literature, great pianists of the past, and practice rehabilitation.