pianoinspires.com
Piano Inspires Discovery
A space dedicated to inspiring the love of piano and music making through educational and inspirational content.
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5 Reasons You Should Learn “Arirang”
We would like to thank Kowoon Lee for this article on the Korean song, Arirang. Interested in learning more about Arirang? Attend this session at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 on Thursday, July 24, 2025, 1:30-1:55pm CDT. Learn more and register for the conference here. 1. Cultural Understanding As Korean culture continues to gain global…
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Teaching Us to Be Our Best Selves: The Power of a Piano Teacher
We welcome you to celebrate your own teacher by sharing a tribute with us and donating to The Frances Clark Center. Students, parents, and colleagues are honoring piano teachers from their communities as part of the “Power of a Piano Teacher” campaign. The teachers featured here are making profound contributions to students at all stages,…
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What to Expect at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
From the Inclusive Teaching Track and Keyboard Lab Presentations The Committees of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 work to research, compile, or otherwise address issues of ongoing significance to our participants and the piano teaching public in meaningful and substantive ways. As we eagerly anticipate NCKP 2025, we asked our committee chairs to give us…
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Piano Inspires Podcast: 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
The Frances Clark Center recognizes Barbara Fast, Susanna Garcia, Gary Ingle, William Chapman Nyaho, and Craig Sale as recipients of the 2025 Frances Clark Center Lifetime Achievement Award. Each of these recipients exemplifies outstanding dedication to the field of music and piano teaching. Their influential contributions in the field of piano pedagogy have impacted our profession…
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5 Things You Might Not Know About the Ergonomically Scaled Piano Keyboard
We would like to thank Camila de Oliviera for this article on the Ergonomically Scaled Piano Keyboard (ESPK). Interested in learning more about the EPSK? Attend her session at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 on Thursday, July 24, 2025, 12:00-12:25pm CDT. Learn more and register for the conference here. 1. Playing an ESPK doesn’t mean…
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Navajo Cultural Elements in Sandpaintings by Connor Chee
We would like to thank Le Bai for this article on Connor Chee’s piano piece, Sandpaintings. Interested in learning more about this work? Attend Le Bai’s session at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 on Thursday, July 24 from 10:30 AM – 10:55 AM CDT in Lilac B. Learn more and register for the conference here.…
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2025 Collegiate Connections
An international cohort of students responded to our call for proposals for the 2025 Collegiate Connections virtual event, which will highlight innovative group projects. The Frances Clark Center is pleased to announce the selected proposals for our Collegiate Connections event on Friday, April 25, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern; click here to…
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What to Expect at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
From the Technology and New Professionals Tracks The Committees of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 work to research, compile, or otherwise address issues of ongoing significance to our participants and the piano teaching public in meaningful and substantive ways. As we eagerly anticipate NCKP 2025, we asked our committee chairs to give us a sneak…
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Lisan Wang: Composer and Trailblazer
We would like to thank Rentana Wu for this article on pianist and composer Lisan Wang. Interested in learning more about Lisan Wang? Attend her session at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 on Saturday, July 26 from 11:00 AM – 11:25 AM in Grand Ballroom IJ. Learn more and register for the conference here. 1.…
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A Quick Look at Business and Entrepreneurship: What Pianists Should Know
Special thanks to the NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference Business and Entrepreneurship Committee for their contributions to this post.Join them for their webinar, “The Hidden Landscape of Business and Entrepreneurship,” on Wednesday, April 19th, 2023 at 11:00AM ET. Registration is free! Why are business and entrepreneurship important topics for pianists today? Developing business and entrepreneurship…
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The Birth of Argentina’s Musical Advocate: Alberto Ginastera
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, born on April 11, 1916. Ginastera has been described as an important composer in the history of Argentina, with an impact on the collection and dissemination of folk music similar to that of Bartók in Hungary.1 Ginastera was born in Buenos…
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This Week in Piano History: Happy 150th, Sergei!
THIS WEEK IN PIANO HISTORY, we celebrate the birth of composer, pianist, and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff, born on April 1, 1873. Despite his enduring fame as a composer, Rachmaninoff was largely known in his day as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, touring around the world. Rachmaninoff was most likely born in…
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What’s New at NCKP This Year
We are excited to welcome you this summer to NCKP: The Piano Conference as we celebrate 25 years of excellence in piano teaching, learning and performing. We stand on a rich legacy of piano educators who for more than two decades have cultivated the conference to provide relevant and needed resources to piano teachers. This…
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The Benefits of NCKP: The Piano Conference and Why You Should Attend
Register for NCKP: 2023! Click here to register. The list of sessions for the upcoming NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference has been posted, and it looks to be a best-ever conference. I wouldn’t miss it. If memory serves me correctly, I have attended every NCKP since its founding by Richard Chronister some 25 years ago.…
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E-Posters: Why You Should Submit and Tips for Success
With gratitude we welcome one of our NCKP 2021: The Piano Conference Research E-Poster Award Winners, Robin S. Heinsen, to our Discovery page. Heinsen is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Miami University, and has provided helpful insight into her experience as an NCKP poster presenter. We hope it will inspire you to join us…
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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…
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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…
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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…
