Teachers and Staff | Misha Studenkov

Misha Studenkov is a versatile musician active as a pianist, keyboardist, accordionist, and composer/arranger in the Greater Rochester Area. Misha’s jazz piano styles draw from blues, bebop, and modal traditions, combining into a vibrant palette for storytelling and expression. An interest in folk accordion stemming from his family background led Misha to integrate the instrument into his musical signature and his work with jazz ensembles.

A California native mentored by South Bay jazz legend Kirk Tamura, Misha received his BM from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied jazz piano performance under Gary Versace. At Eastman, Misha worked with guest artists including Maria Schneider, John Clayton, Renée Fleming, Dafnis Prieto, and Jeremy Pelt. He has been an intern instructor of jazz piano and accordion at the Eastman Community Music School since 2023, and a keyboard instructor at ROCmusic since 2025, and performs frequently around Rochester. His compositions have won awards in the South Bay and been recorded by Eastman student ensembles.