Ansel Mapp graduated with an MM Piano Performance degree as student of Dr. Min Kwon from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, at Rutgers University in 2025. He received a BA in Applied Music and Philosophy from Baylor University in 2022, where he was a student of Dr. Terry Lynn Hudson. On December 4, 2021, Ansel performed a solo recital featuring all Black composers with works written by Valerie Capers, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Robert Nathaniel Dett, and arr. Dr. John L. Cornelius II (Associate Professor and Collaborative Pianist at Prairie View A&M University). On May 4, 2022, Ansel organized and performed in “A Requiem to bell hooks” with advisory from Dr. Lenore Wright. This program celebrated the life and works of feminist, social critic, and author bell hooks, sharing the inequities in concert programming and performing with works by Margaret Bonds and Florence Price. Ansel Mapp was a participant in the Inaugural Nina Simone Piano Competition in June 2023, and he participated in the National Association of Negro Musicians Scholarship competition in 2025.
Quote: Joining the New School as a faculty member is very important to me, as this is a wonderful and collaborative piano community. I am most excited to begin working with my students and sharing the gift of music, as well as making a positive impact on the students' lives. I am very excited to join this wonderful faculty and learn from some of the top piano teachers in New Jersey!