June 11-13, 2027 | Online
July 28-31, 2027 | Lombard, IL
The Piano Conference: NCKP 2027
About The Piano Conference
Happening once every two years, The Piano Conference: NCKP is the premiere gathering for pianists to be inspired by the latest innovations in piano teaching, discover new repertoire, network with other professionals in the field, and explore the latest in piano resources, ideas, and trends. Attendees have the opportunity to attend concerts, keynotes, teaching demonstrations, and workshops led by some of the most respected educators and pianists in the world, as well as participate in discussions about the future of the profession.
Join us next in summer 2027!
The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 in Review
The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 explored the challenges and opportunities facing our international community at this inflection point for the profession.
Held at the Westin Chicago Lombard Hotel (Lombard, IL), The Piano Conference featured a new, innovative in-person summit and conference. The opening one-day summit engaged the full community and provided a gathering for all to collectively share, dialogue, and exchange ideas. The facilitated summit included a design-thinking process to collectively consider the immediate challenges, opportunities, and global impact of our field. Three main areas of focus were: 1) Teacher education curriculum, 2) Teaching practices, and 3) New professionals. The participatory summit resulted in a vision document and action plan for the profession at large.
Learn more about the outcomes of the 2025 Innovation Summit.
The Piano Conference continued with three additional days of selected conference sessions as well as keynotes, concerts, and curated PEDx presentations. The conference also included an online event on June 7–8, 2025, to facilitate broad and international access. Multiple calls for participation invited peer-reviewed proposals, teaching demonstrations, performances, e-posters, and Collegiate Connections projects.
Order the Proceedings
Presentations from the online and in-person event will be documented in The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 Proceedings. The Proceedings is a highly valued print publication that provides a meaningful resource of research and pedagogical practice.
Conference History
Since its founding in 2001, The Piano Conference: NCKP has brought together thousands of keyboard educators and artists from around the world. Visit the archives page to explore the 2025 Program Book, including information on committees, keynotes, concert artists, teaching demos, sponsors, exhibitors, and the full schedule of sessions. Formerly known as The National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy.
The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 Proceedings, a collection of selected papers and presentations, will be published in early 2026.
