Aaron Lott is a pianist and vocalist originally from Ames, Iowa. Growing up in his family meant growing up surrounded by music of all different types. He always loved making music with others and being a part of as many ensembles he could, including playing trombone and bass trombone. To find ways to connect his two passions of singing and piano, Aaron trained as a vocal coach and specializes in collaborative music, specifically classic art song. He focused his training on coaching singers from vocal health and techniques to language diction and interpretation. Aaron loves working with students of all ages and levels in finding what fuels their passion. His lessons are frequently opportunities to expose his students to music they otherwise may not have discovered.
Aaron’s parents both played low brass and met in the Iowa State marching band their first year of college. So like many of his family members before him, he also went to Iowa State to study music. He received a Bachelor of Music Performance while studying both piano and voice. He had the opportunity to continue playing trombone in the Symphonic Band and Symphony Orchestra, while singing in Iowa State Singers, Opera Studio, and Shy of a Dozen, which he also directed his last two years. He was a finalist in the Concert of Soloists on piano, and played for many lessons, exams, recitals, ballet classes, and chamber groups. Wanting to dive deeper into classic art song, he decided to go to Grad School. He briefly moved to New York City to study with Thomas Muraco before eventually moving to London, England to study at the Royal College of Music. While in London, he studied piano under Simon Lepper with regular coachings from Gary Matthewman and Roger Vignoles, and voice under Janis Kelly. Whilst a student, he had the privilege to perform in locations such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Bristol Cathedral. To further his experiences working with singers, Aaron participated in several music festivals around Europe. These included the Lied Studio in England, Frost of Scandinavia in Denmark, and Kirchheimer Liedersommer and the Berlin Song Festival, in which he was the scholarship winner, in Germany. In these festivals, he had the opportunity to work with singers from all over the world in various languages. Working with musicians who shared no common language proved to him that music is a universal language, and that we can connect on a similar level regardless of where we come from.
After receiving his Masters of Performance in Piano Accompaniment from the Royal College of Music, Aaron briefly moved to Berlin, Germany before landing in Bilbao, Spain where he married his husband, Urtzi. While living there, he taught piano, voice and theory at the music school, Escuela de Musica Arteta. It was a humbling experience, in that the terminology in Spanish was at times very different from English, which gave the feeling of learning music all over again. Luckily, this music school had a gospel choir that sang all their music in English, so Aaron got to co-direct the choir focusing on vocal technique and English pronunciation. While living in Spain, he also had the opportunity to sing with an auditioned group of 12 singers, Emitenia, and was a soloist with the Barakaldo Municipal Band and the local volunteer Opera Chorus ensemble.
After moving back to Ames, Aaron started Lott Music Studio along with his husband in 2021 in the same building his father had his business for over 20 years. While getting the studio off the ground, he worked as a staff accompanist at Drake University and Iowa State University, and can be seen performing around Central Iowa, including regular performances with the Ames Municipal Band. Wanting to connect with the community more, he has accompanied many public school ensembles, judged various competitions and auditions, and given many workshops. In 2025, Aaron was awarded the Art Educator Award through the Ames Community Arts Council.
Through these many experiences, Aaron has realized that there is no method that fits all. Every student has different abilities and goals, so the way they are taught should be different. He believes in maintaining a flexible structure while making it fun and joyful without sacrificing technique. While frequently starting out with a method series, to make sure nothing is skimmed over, Aaron likes to work with the students to pick out “performance” pieces separate from the lesson. This helps engage the students and make them excited to learn more.
Being a collaborative pianist first and foremost, Aaron likes to focus on musicianship and interpretation. At the piano, there are many gestures we can use and skills we can practice to make reading easier and performing less stressful. As a singer, there are many exercises that focus on vocal health and understanding the text. The most rewarding thing about teaching is seeing the passion for music ignite, and watching the students put the pieces together themselves. Helping foster this love and joy for something that spreads more joy has no equal.
