Sten Höstfält
Music Educator
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Sten Hostfalt is a veteran music educator, with over forty years of experience teaching all grades from pre-school to graduate school in Europe and the United States. Including twenty-five years of service as an instructor, and lecturer at premier academic institutions for music and music education KMH Kungliga Musikhögskolan, The Royal College of Music, Stockholm, The City University of New York CUNY*, New World School of the Arts at Miami-Dade College/ University of Florida, and Columbia University's Teachers College. A Swedish-born American, Introduced to the teaching profession in 1977, through a jr. high school vocational program. Come first-generation academic earning BM, GD, MM, EdM degrees, and a post-graduate advanced certificate, in professional music, jazz guitar, composition and music education respectively. As a recipient of scholarships, outstanding musicianship awards, and academic honors from Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Columbia University, and the City University of New York CUNY. Mr. Hostfalt carries a pedagogic legacy as a facilitator of individually translated pragmatic creative applications of knowledge with a 21st-century view on music education. Reflective of an internationally documented four-decade active contribution to creative music and education alongside some of the most prolific musicians and artists of our time, on recordings, and at leading venues. As a composer, arranger, guitarist, band-leader, producer, and label proprietor associated with leading press featured contributions to the music scene since 1994. Hostfalt's work may be considered groundbreaking (Don Williamson, Jazz Review, 2005), takes you on a journey to a place where anything is possible (John Kelman, All About Jazz, 2004), and is one of the most riveting explorations of the microtonal world ever recorded (Larry Cosentino, Signal to Noise, 2005). A current music instructor at Columbia University's Teachers College, where he since 2020 teaches applied lessons to both prospective and experienced music teachers, as well as to students in the wider Columbia University network. Mr. Hostfalt is also a New York State K-12 certified music teacher, contributing to the NYC Department of Education since 2006. For the past 35 years, through his private studio teaching music professionals, and students enrolled at, or accepted to the Juilliard School, NYU, The New School, Berklee College of Music, Western Illinois University, SUNY Purchase, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, and LaGuardia High School for the Arts. Mr. Hostfalt's contribution to New York City's creative music community since 1994, to the U.S. East Coast scene ever since 1989, and internationally since 1981. Represents both informal and formal education, and multiple cultural traditions as manifested in a wide range of formats. From the DIY progressive arts culture of the late 1970s, to some of the world's most famous concert halls and venues, and some of the most prestigious academic institutions for music, education and the arts. Documentation, features, or mentions in academic and popular-commercial publications: * Harmonios: The Forgotten Ones" by Jon Damian [YO, 2025] * The microtonal guitar: Türkiye’s Segovia moment. Rast Musicology Journal, 11(4), 589-602. by Emre Ünlenen (2023) https://doi.org/10.12975/rastmd.20231146 * Fresh Music: Explorations with the Creative Workshop Ensemble, for Musicians, Artists, and Teachers, by Jon Damian [YO, 2015], * Dictionnaire des musiques microtonales" (1892-2013) by Franck Jedrzejewski, L'Harmattan, France, 2014 * Guitar Player Magazine: Rants and Raves, Spinning in the Editors Head, Barry Cleveland, February 2005 * DISCLAIMER: Neither Sten Hostfalt's label Sonus Rex, nor Sten's NYC Guitar Studio are affiliated with Queensborough Community College or CUNY, the City University of New York. |