Bio - Daryl Rojas

Daryl Rojas has been recently described as a “fantastic and sensitive player”.

Dr. Rojas has established himself as a distinguished soloist and chamber musician, performing at prestigious international venues, competitions, and piano festivals across the globe. His notable appearances include performances at the Grieg Piano Cycle, the First Scarlatti World Marathon, the Memphis International Piano Festival, and the Memphis New Sounds Series. He was honored with an Honorable Mention at The Walled City International Piano Festival and Competition in Northern Ireland, and recently participated in the Klaipeda Piano Masters (2022) in Lithuania—the largest piano festival in the Baltic region.

His extensive international concert engagements span Central and South America, the United States, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Northern Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Most recently, Dr. Rojas was selected as one of an elite group of invited pianists for the esteemed Feuerwerk Klavier Akademie in Einbeck, Germany, where he also served as a judge at the Einbecker Klavierfrühling Piano Competition (2023).

Driven by a profound passion for teaching from an early age, Dr. Rojas brings over two decades of experience in piano pedagogy. He maintains an active and diverse private piano studio in East Memphis, including his teaching at the Jewish Community Center. Dedicated to guiding students from beginners through advanced levels, Dr. Rojas emphasizes cultivating technical excellence and expressive musicality through a holistic, injury-free approach to piano playing.

Daryl is an active member of the Music Teachers’ National Association (MTNA), where he has been featured as a presenter at prominent events including the MTNA National Conference, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) in Chicago, the Tennessee Music Teachers Association (TMTA), and, most recently, the Kentucky Music Teachers Association (KTMA) State conference. Daryl has previously held leadership roles including serving as President of the Greater Memphis Music Teachers Association (GMMTA) for the 2023-2025 term, he was also the President and Treasurer of the University of Memphis Collegiate Chapter. Additionally, he gained valuable administrative experience as Personnel Manager for the Prizm Ensemble, a Memphis-based nonprofit organization. An entrepreneur at heart, Daryl founded and led Roma Musik, serving as its CEO. Roma Musik distinguished itself as the only authorized Latin American distributor for premier Urtext German-Austrian music publishers, including Henle, Bärenreiter, Wiener Urtext, and Universal Editions.

Daryl firmly believes in the power of music education to foster vibrant, inclusive communities. His commitment to nurturing future generations of pianists extends beyond technical proficiency, aiming to cultivate an engaged and culturally enriched society through active participation in local artistic initiatives.

Dr. Daryl Rojas graduated with highest honors, earning his Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Costa Rica. He furthered his studies with a Piano Certificate from the Juan N. Corpas Foundation in Bogotá, Colombia, and pursued additional advanced studies at the esteemed Hochschule für Musik (HfM) Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany. In 2014, Dr. Rojas moved to the United States to complete his Master of Music in Piano Performance and a Post-Graduate Artist Diploma at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences, University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, under the renowned pianist Jura Margulis.

Throughout his career, Dr. Rojas has been privileged to study under notable pianists and educators such as Sarah Feterman Rotkopf, Aleksandr Skliutovsky, Pilar Leyva, and Jura Margulis. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Piano Performance at the University of Memphis, studying under Cathal Breslin and Jonathan Tsay, while also pursuing a minor in Pedagogy under Kevin Richmond. During this time, Dr. Rojas served as a teaching assistant in the Music Department, instructing undergraduate students in class piano and offering private piano lessons. He further expanded his academic contributions by serving as a collaborative pianist at the University of Mississippi (“Ole Miss”) during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Dr. Rojas has also benefited from additional mentorship by internationally acclaimed pianists including Anna Balakerskia, Pierre Réach, Bernd Glemser, Ratko Delorko, Orion Weiss, Simone Dinnerstein, Alessandro Deljavan, Baruch Meir, Eric Zuber, and Awadagin Pratt to mention a few. Most notably, he has received dedicated mentoring from the distinguished pianist and pedagogue Gintaras Januševičius.

He is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, with an expected graduation in 2026. Additionally, he contributes to the entrepreneurial community through his role at the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Memphis.

Dr. Rojas maintains an active schedule of performances and conference appearances throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia for the 2025–2026 season. His pedagogical dedication, artistic excellence, and unwavering commitment to his students have been honored with the prestigious “Steinway Top Teacher Award” from Steinway & Sons, New York.