Elben Capule is a Filipino-American pianist that currently resides in Irvine, CA. He began his piano studies at the age of 5 with Mrs. Becci Craig; his other mentors until he finished high school were Mrs. Sally Lee and Mrs. Anita Olsen. In these younger years Elben built a strong foundation in technique and theory and heavily involved himself in the piano competition atmosphere in Southern California. Elben has competed and won various local and state competitions including the Inland Empire Piano Festival, Riverside Young Artists Competition, Junior Bach Festival, and the California State University Fullerton Concerto Competition. In addition to the focused and rigorous training that Elben went through as a solo artist during these competitions he also found a niche as a collaborative pianist by accompanying all of the high school and middle school choirs in the Barstow Unified School District for 4 years. That early experience in accompanying really honed in his sight-reading ability and gave him musical intuition that many artists strive for even in their later years. Since that time Elben has accompanied countless numbers of choirs, vocalists, and instrumentalists. He is often praised by his colleagues and peers as “a joy to work with; gifted with an innate ability for sight reading and collaborative work.”

After graduating from high school in 2004, Capule was burnt out from the intensive training that competitions required and decided to pursue other career paths. While studying other courses in college he always found himself drawn back to music in a variety of ways. Whether it was accompanying soloists, playing for church services, or playing in rock bands, music always found a way back into his life. In the middle of his 3rd year of college Capule finally decided to switch his major to music and studied with Dr. Lynn Wheeler at Pacific Union College. During his studies at PUC, Capule was given the privilege to perform the 3rd movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the college orchestra. In the summer of 2007 he also attended the Jascha Heifitz Institute for Personal Style and received an award for being the Best Collaborative Pianist in the program. Capule finished his Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance at Pacific Union College in June of 2009.

Immediately after finishing his Bachelor’s degree Capule moved to Orange County to study with world-renowned pianist, Eduardo Delgado, at California State University Fullerton. He began his Master’s program as a scholarship recipient in the Fall of 2009. At CSUF is where Elben really found his voice as a musician thanks to the fact that he was able to work with the entire piano faculty during his time there which included Dr. Robert Watson, Mrs. Alison Edwards, and Mr. Eduardo Delgado. With this multi-faced training Elben was able to approach and understand music in new and different ways. In the summer of 2010 Elben attended Music Fest Perugia with a number of his colleagues from CSUF as well as his professor, Mr. Delgado; at this festival Elben was able to perform at a number of venues in the Umbria region of Italy as well as work with dozens of world class pianists from around the globe.

Elben finished his Master’s Degree in Piano Performance at CSUF in 2012. He currently runs his own piano studio in the greater Orange County area and is also a piano instructor at the Huntington Beach Music & Art School. In addition to teaching he is currently the organist and accompanist at the Community Presbyterian Church of La Mirada where he also heads the Praise & Worship Ministry. In his free time Elben writes songs under his pop/rock project Amnesia Beach; he has released 2 albums as Amnesia Beach which can be listened to and purchased through iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. His music has been featured in popular retail outlets such as Hollister and Sony and he has toured the US on multiple occasions with these album releases.

Because of Elben’s practical knowledge in both the classical and popular music atmosphere he is adaptable to teaching a variety of students from beginners to advanced players. He always strives to progress and stay versatile as a musician himself, and in his teaching hopes that he can instill the same love and passion for his student's music playing.