About Me

James Easteppe began his guitar studies under Mark Mazzatenta at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. From 2005-2006 he served on the faculty at Music Academy of North Carolina in Greensboro. He then transferred to Queens University of Charlotte to continue his studies with Robert Teixeira, and was awarded the Queens University Performer of the Year in 2008. After earning his Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance in 2008, Mr. Easteppe went on to study with Christopher Berg at the University of South Carolina, graduating with a Masters of Music in Guitar Performance in 2011. Mr. Easteppe has also studied with Kami Rowan, Kevin Dollar, and Patrick Lui. He has been the recipient of commendations such as the Charlotte Music Society Performance Excellence Award and Semi Finalist in the Music Academy of North Carolina's International Guitar Festival in 2010. Mr. Easteppe joined the faculty at Central Piedmont Community College in 2011, where he has taught several classes including Applied Guitar, Instrumental Repertoire, History of Rock and Roll, Music Appreciation, and Fundamentals of Theory. In addition to his position at CPCC Mr. Easteppe also served on the music faculty teaching applied guitar at Davidson College from 2015 to 2018. James has performed with the Bechtler Ensemble as part of CPCC's Sensoria Arts Festival in Charlotte, NC and guitarist Jeremy Polley in the EP Guitar Duo regionally. He began his Doctorate of Musical Arts studies in University of South Carolina in Classical Guitar Performance in 2014 and has been living and teaching in the Chapel Hill, NC area since 2017.