Dakota Perez was born in Dallas, Texas but lived in Calgary for most of his life. Most recently, he was selected as a winner of the 2024 RBC Concerto Competition, and performed the first movement of Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his orchestral debut with the Calgary Civic Symphony in 2021 as a winner of the Rotary Calgary Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 1. For two years (2021-22 and 2023-24), Dakota was in Calgary Pro Musica’s Dick Matthew’s Young Artists Development Program.

     Dakota has studied with Katrina Thompson-Fost, Dr. Karen Gerelus, Dr. Lana Henchell, and was a student in the Academy for Young Artists at the Mount Royal University Conservatory. He received his ARCT in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 16. He graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance in the studio of Dr. Jani Parsons in 2024. He will graduate with a Master of Music in Piano Performance in the spring, studying with HieYon Choi at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. During his time in Calgary, he found value in teaching music theory. Dakota has worked extensively as a collaborative pianist. He currently is a rehearsal pianist for the opera productions at Peabody as a graduate assistant and recently was at the Berkshire Opera Festival in August for their production of La Traviata where he will return this summer in their Resident Artist Program. In the fall he will join the McGill-UdeM Piano-Vocal Arts Residency.