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Piano Inspires Discovery

A space dedicated to inspiring the love of piano and music making through educational and inspirational content.

  • This Week in Piano History: Beethoven’s Viennese Debut

    This Week in Piano History: Beethoven’s Viennese Debut

    THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate Beethoven’s debut as a pianist in Vienna on March 29, 1795. At just twenty-four years old, Beethoven’s performance marked the beginning of a lifelong musical relationship with the residents of Vienna. Beethoven came to Vienna in November 1792 to study with Haydn. His journey to Vienna was funded…


  • Five Things You Might Not Know About Margaret Bonds

    Five Things You Might Not Know About Margaret Bonds

    Check out Sarah Rushing’s archived webinar of Margaret Bonds: Troubled Water, where she explores the preparation, practice, and interpretation of this unique piece. 1. Margaret Bonds was raised by four independent, career-oriented women. At the tender age of four, Bonds’s parents divorced. Instead of growing up in a traditional family structure, Bonds was raised by…


  • This Week in Piano History: The Demise of Hanon

    This Week in Piano History: The Demise of Hanon

    THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we remember composer and organist Charles-Louis Hanon, who died on March 19, 1900 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. Author of the infamous collection The Virtuoso Pianist, Hanon is little known besides this work. Hanon was born in Renescure, a village in northern France. He learned to play organ and later moved to…


  • Teaching Students to Love Classical Period Repertoire: Q&A with Suzanne Newcomb

    Teaching Students to Love Classical Period Repertoire: Q&A with Suzanne Newcomb

    Don’t miss Suzanne Newcomb’s Inspiring Artistry contribution about Beethoven’s Sonatina in G Major, which includes information on how to effectively teach the piece. Why is it important for students to learn Classical-period repertoire? What are some of the benefits? Classical-period repertoire represents the foundation of much of the piano music that follows it! Baroque composers…


  • How To Travel to NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference without Breaking the Bank!

    How To Travel to NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference without Breaking the Bank!

    Register for NCKP: 2023! Click here to register. Having spent a good amount of the last 30 years zig-zagging the skies as a music technology consultant, I have personally experienced nearly every curveball air travel can toss my way. In all this time, through quite a bit of trial and error and by picking up…


  • Five Things You Might Not Know About Claude Debussy

    Five Things You Might Not Know About Claude Debussy

    Check out Andy Villemez’s video of Debussy: La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, L. 177/8 where he explores the preparation, practice, and interpretation of this unique piece. 1.  When referring to his own music, Debussy hated the term “impressionism.” The life of most composers includes small, or even lengthy battles in how their music is…


  • This Week in Piano History: The Birth of “Mr. Harmony”

    This Week in Piano History: The Birth of “Mr. Harmony”

    THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of composer Mario Ruiz Armengol, who was born on March 17, 1914. A Mexican composer, Ruiz Armengol wrote a number of important piano works including a sonata, the 31 Piezas para niños, and 12 Estudios. Ruiz Armengol was born into a large family in Veracruz, Mexico.…


  • “Piano Inspires” Webinar: William Chapman Nyaho Interview

    “Piano Inspires” Webinar: William Chapman Nyaho Interview

    The Frances Clark Center was thrilled to welcome William Chapman Nyaho to our “Piano Inspires” Webinar series. Please enjoy his engaging conversation with Dr. Jennifer Snow, CEO of the Frances Clark Center, and we encourage you to join us for all of our upcoming webinars. https://pianoinspires.com/webinars/ In this installment of our Piano Inspires… series, Dr. Jennifer…


  • Five Things You Might Not Know About Filip Lazăr

    Five Things You Might Not Know About Filip Lazăr

    Check out Danny Milan’s video of Lazăr: Pièces minuscules pour les enfants, Op.16 where he explores the preparation, practice, and interpretation of this unique piece. 1.  He was a founding member of the Society of Romanian Composers. Also known as the Romanian Composers’ Society (Societatea Compozitorilor Romani), this organization was founded by Romanian composers George…


  • This Week in Piano History: The Premiere of Mendelssohn’s G Minor Piano Concerto, October 17, 1831

    This Week in Piano History: The Premiere of Mendelssohn’s G Minor Piano Concerto, October 17, 1831

    THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the premiere of Felix Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in G Minor, Op. 25, premiered by the composer himself on October 17, 1831 in Munich. The concerto, made famous by Clara Schumann and Franz Liszt (and later ridiculed by Hector Berlioz!), became incredibly popular with pianists throughout Europe for its…


  • This Week in Piano History: The Birth of R. Nathaniel Dett, October 11, 1882

    This Week in Piano History: The Birth of R. Nathaniel Dett, October 11, 1882

    THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of composer and virtuoso pianist, R. Nathaniel Dett, who was born 140 years ago on October 11, 1882. Though born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Dett spent most of his life in the United States. A prodigious child, Dett received piano lessons when he was young and…


  • Presenting at NCKP: My Experience and Why You Should Too

    Presenting at NCKP: My Experience and Why You Should Too

    We invite you to submit your e-poster proposals, teaching demonstration videos, and performance videos by 11:59pm PT on Monday, April 10, 2023.  My Experience at NCKP 2021 Summer 2021 found the world struggling to regain normalcy as we adapted to a new style of living. In the music profession, we quickly established new ways to…


  • Welcome to the Piano Inspires Discovery Page!

    Welcome to the Piano Inspires Discovery Page!

    Welcome! We are thrilled to share with you the newest Piano Inspires page that is designed to bring you personal, educational, and accessible content about piano teaching, learning, and performing: the Piano Inspires Discovery page. What to expect from the Piano Inspires Discovery page Our hope for this space is to inspire the love of…


  • How to Write an Effective Conference Proposal: 5 Tips for Success

    How to Write an Effective Conference Proposal: 5 Tips for Success

    We are delighted to share top tips from Dr. Sara Ernst on writing successful conference proposals to support you as you draft your session ideas for NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference. Sara is Director of Teacher Engagement for the Frances Clark Center and a member of the Executive Committee for NCKP: The Piano Conference. We…


  • Cómo escribir una propuesta de presentación eficaz para conferencias: 5 consejos

    Cómo escribir una propuesta de presentación eficaz para conferencias: 5 consejos

    Estamos encantados de compartir los mejores consejos de la Dra. Sara Ernst sobre cómo escribir propuestas exitosas para ayudarle a redactar sus ideas para ponencias para NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference. Sara es Directora de Compromiso Docente del Frances Clark Center y miembro del Comité Ejecutivo de NCKP: The Piano Conference. Lo invitamos a enviar…


  • Como escrever uma proposta de apresentação eficaz para conferências: 5 dicas de sucesso

    Como escrever uma proposta de apresentação eficaz para conferências: 5 dicas de sucesso

    Estamos muito felizes em compartilhar as principais dicas da Dr. Sara Ernst sobre escrever propostas bem-sucedidas para conferências à medida que você elabora suas ideias para apresentações na NCKP 2023: a Conferência de Piano. Sara é diretora de engajamento de professores para o Centro Frances Clark e membro do Comitê Executivo da NCKP: a Conferência…


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