Anja Arko is a Slovenian-born pianist, educator, and collaborative artist whose work explores the intersections of classical music, contemporary repertoire, and cultural engagement. She performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician, with a repertoire spanning from standard works for solo piano to chamber contemporary music and interdisciplinary projects.
Anja is the winner of a Slovenian National Competition for Piano Duo and has performed widely across Europe (France, Germany, Austria, Czech, Serbia, Croatia) and the United States. seasons have featured projects that highlight her artistic range and her dedication to meaningful engagement. Her debut album, Sojourn, will be released on Parma Recordings in March 2026, featuring works by Florence Price and Claude Debussy and showcasing her interpretive artistry and dedication to amplifying underrepresented voices within the classical tradition. Recent career highlights include a performance at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) in July 2025, an artist residency in Rapid City, South Dakota—where she and her husband, visual artist Micah Daw, presented Music and Environment, a lecture-recital and gallery talk reflecting a shared approach to ecological thought through parallel artistic disciplines—and a 2022 tour of southern France with the Because the Oceans project, performing in Marseille, Monaco, and other cities as part of an outreach and ocean conservation initiative supported by the U.S. Consulate.
Anja is a core member of Catchfire Collective, a contemporary chamber ensemble recently named the 2025 Ensemble-in-Residence for Music for a Great Space. She also collaborates with Paradox Opera, a nonprofit commissioning socially conscious new works, and with the Because the Oceans project, a chamber group focused on conservation and environmental engagement. Her performance career further includes numerous premieres and recordings, among them Hillary Purrington’s Tourmaline, Robert Chumbley’s opera The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Alejandro Rutty’s Because the Oceans, Calling for Jane by Rachel Dean and Erin Reifler, and most recently, Diana Syrse’s Rojo en Azul (U.S. premiere).
Anja holds a Doctorate in Piano Performance and Post-Master’s Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy from UNCG, and degrees from the University of Florida and University of Ljubljana. She also studied at Akademia Muzyczna im. Karola Szymanowskiego in Katowice, Poland. She teaches at High Point University and University of North Carolina at Greensboro and remains deeply engaged as a mentor and educator in the music community. In 2023, Anja received HPU Outstanding Music Faculty award and mentorship award Excellence Brought to Light at Guilford College.