About Dr. Van Stiefel

Dr. Van Stiefel was born in 1965 in Atlanta, GA, and has since left an undeniable mark on the guitar world. With an amalgamation of various musical languages and techniques, improvisation, electric guitar, and interactive technologies, Van Stiefel, an Avondale, PA-based composer, guitarist, producer, and author, has composed over fifty works and has established a unique voice in contemporary music.

Watching the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour at age three, he was so enthusiastic that his parents gave him a ukulele to play along with the TV, and at six, his father began teaching him guitar. He was introduced to classical music by singing with Atlanta Boy Choir, with which he toured England, Italy, and the United States. He studied classical guitar at Maple Street Guitars in Atlanta and attended Yale College, where he was awarded the Cox Prize for Music Composition. Subsequently, he received a Masters in Guitar Performance from the Yale School of Music. He earned a Certificate in Advanced Musical Studies from the Banff Centre (Banff, Alberta) as its Andre Segovia Memorial Fellow.