Born and raised in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, Jeff Manchur began playing piano at the age of six. He has completed degrees in piano performance at Brandon University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, finding success in provincial and statewide competitions and at the academic level. The study of classical performance practice with pianist Ann Chang eventually led him to take a keen interest in the study of early recordings, most especially the eccentric Ervin Nyiregyhazi. This resulted in an awareness of the vast differences between the objective performing style today and the subjective musical culture which birthed the standard body of piano repertoire. His love and respect of traditional music has led him into the world of new music, searching for fresh ways of musical expression beyond the conventional boundaries imposed by current customs of classical music. He is a student in the Doctor of Musical Arts in Contemporary Music program at Bowling Green State University and his principal piano study has been with Sandra Dowhan, Joan Miller, Paul Barnes, Nicole Narboni, Robert Shannon, and presently, Thomas Rosenkranz.
