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Piano Inspires Podcast: Mario Ajero

Written By Mario Ajero, Alejandro Cremaschi

To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Mario Ajero, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of his conversation with Alejandro Cremaschi. Want to learn more about Ajero? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Ajero on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

Mario Ajero

Alejandro Cremaschi: So one of the things that you know, many of us know, but not everybody knows, is that you have a very successful YouTube channel with 30,000 subscribers. I was checking that last night. That’s very impressive. And lots of videos there. Different types of videos, some of them are teaching videos. What’s your most popular video there? Can you tell us? I know what it is. What is it there?

Mario Ajero: Oh, God, most people would be like, “Okay, well, I probably should, you know, shut this thing down there,” because that’s another life, or that’s—someone might hold that stuff against me down the road there. But I think it’s a nice documentation of my journey, even though it’s, so disorganized and so just like, just throwing stuff up there on the internet type of things there. 

But yeah, the most popular video was from 2006 and, you know, I appreciate you making me sound like I’m popular. No, it’s just that I’ve been around long enough there that it doesn’t just like just a little bit by little bit.

AC: I think since that time, I haven’t reached 1000, and you have like, 30k. 

MA: Oh, that’s great of you there. The most popular video was the one—and again, it’s probably just because it’s been around forever. But actually it did [make me realize], “Wow. This is what a viral thing looks like.” It was to just play, just the couple measures on the piano of how to play on the piano, the song “Clocks” by Coldplay. 

AC: I think it’s so well done. It has a little bit of humor, and it’s kind of very, uh, step-by-step. So I can see how people really wanted to watch it. I’m sure there, you taught a lot of people how to play those measures. 

MA: No, it’s crazy, getting the comments of people like, “Wow. You inspired me to go into my attic and pull out my keyboard and try this out there. And it actually works.” [That] was what some of them said. I’m like, “I never even met you guys there before.” But yeah, it’s so funny. I had made that video in a time where I had done all my coursework at University of Oklahoma. I was sending out, you know, hundreds of applications to universities for a faculty job there, and no one was biting there. So it was just because I had a lot of relatively free time, and I should have been working more on my dissertation, to be honest there, but yeah, it allowed me to kind of experiment my fascination with, you know, the video camera that I had mentioned earlier, and doing all the quick cuts and things like that. Some of them are kind of cheesy as we saw, but I was experimenting with iMovie.

It’s funny like I’m trying to, again, think from the perspective of what does the viewer want to see? Here, I’m trying to put my eyes, put myself in the shoes and in the eyes of what the student wants to accomplish or wants to see, and I wanted to do close ups of my hands at the piano keyboard. I would put on text there so that they know the fingerings, and have a little bit of the scrolling of the sheet music, if they are more attuned to that modality of learning. It’s funny, the scrolling sheet music was just me doing a real quick finale little snippet there. And then in iMovie, I just did that Ken Burns effect of the things going along. And I think about, like, how ridiculous some of those edits and how long it took to do some of those things, just for what was it? A four-minute video or something like that there. 

AC: But you know, that was visionary. I think, you know, this was at the beginning of, you know, going to YouTube to learn this song. And there’s literally hundreds of thousands of this type of videos now, you know, with this Synthesia, yep, descending notes. And I thought that was genius. I mean, you laugh about how crude It was. And it just opened up the whole [world].

MA: And that’s the one thing that was encouraging to me, and I’m glad that there’s a lot of more people that are putting that content in. And again, some of it varies in quality and educational value for sure, but there’s a lot of people that are not really willing to step into the piano studio yet. They’re not sure, is it right, is it good for me to take piano lessons there? And I think there’s been enough good stories that I’ve heard of people that we would call self-learners, or just kind of hobby students there, that just wanted to know, “Can I really do this here?” And that opens the door for them, and hopefully maybe plants that seed there. “Wow, I was able to do that through this video, I can either search for more videos and or I could look for a professional piano teacher that can maybe even elevate my playing even more.”

AC: At the same time, it also influenced the way we do things in group piano, because many of us, actually, since the early 2000s have been creating tutorial videos for our own students, even though they are in classes. And I think this was very early on. That was wonderful.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Piano Inspires Podcast’s latest episode, listen to the entire episode with Mario Ajero on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

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Do-It-Yourself: Creating Engaging Online Piano Lesson Videos
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What’s New at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025

Written By Sara Ernst, Michaela Boros, Megan Hall

We would like to thank Sara Ernst, Michaela Jones, and Megan Hall for this fascinating article on what we can expect at the Piano Conference: NCKP 2025. Join us for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 as we gather together in person and online. The Piano Conference seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing our international community at this inflection point for the profession. Full conference registration includes four days of engagement, including the summit, concerts, keynotes, PEDx presentations, and more, as well as access to the online event and online event archives. Student, Single-Day, and Online-Only registration options are also available. Early-bird registration is available until May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. Subscribers receive an additional 10% off; log into PianoInspires.com and go to ‘My Discounts’  to find your discount code. Learn more and register for The Piano Conference by clicking here.

1. The NCKP Innovation Summit

The Inaugural NCKP 2025 Innovation Summit: Designing the Future of Piano Education represents an exciting opportunity for our community to reflect on and shape the evolving landscape of piano teaching and learning. Held on Wednesday, July 23, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., this event will convene a diverse group of professionals committed to advancing piano education in a rapidly changing world. We invite you to join us for this transformative event and add your voice to the shared vision of the future of piano education.

Designed as a collaborative and forward-thinking gathering, the Summit invites participants to explore innovative teaching models, address current challenges, and chart a course for the future of the field. The Summit’s comprehensive approach aims to foster critical discussion, encourage the exchange of ideas, and inspire meaningful action.

2. Jazz Artists: Concert and PEDx Panel

Jeremy Siskind will host a jazz concert featuring acclaimed jazz artists and PEDx panel on jazz education and the importance of teaching improvisation. To learn more about the jazz concert artists, click here.

3. An expanded online event

The Piano Conference is expanding internationally and now includes tracks in Mandarin and Korean, as well as Spanish and Portuguese.  English subtitles are provided for all presentations in other languages. Additionally, session rebroadcasts will be available for greater accessibility across time zones worldwide.

4. Collegiate Connections at The Piano Conference online event

Collegiate Connections focuses exclusively on highlighting the work of today’s most innovative collegiate groups. Winners present in a Collegiate Connections webinar on April 25, 2025, and at the online event of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Interested in submitting your collegiate group’s work to Collegiate Connections? Submit here.

Attendees in a group piano lab at The Piano Conference: NCKP
A presenter speaking at The Piano Conference: NCKP
Attendees at The Piano Conference: NCKP

5. Curated committee programming

Our 15 committees have carefully curated new programs for 2025 based on relevant topics in piano education.  These selected sessions are integrated directly into the conference schedule. Our committee topics include:

  • Advocacy and Community Impact
  • Business and Entrepreneurship
  • Collaborative Performance
  • Creative Music Making
  • Inclusive Teaching
  • Independent Music Teachers
  • International
  • New Professionals
  • Performance Practice
  • Research
  • Teacher Education in Higher Ed
  • Teaching Adults
  • Technology
  • Wellness
  • Young Musicians: Birth to Age 9

We hope to see you at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 for four days of learning, connection, and inspiration.

Join us for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 as we gather together in person and online. The Piano Conference seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing our international community at this inflection point for the profession. Full conference registration includes four days of engagement, including the summit, concerts, keynotes, PEDx presentations, and more, as well as access to the online event and online event archives. Student, Single-Day, and Online-Only registration options are also available. Early-bird registration is available until May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. Subscribers receive an additional 10% off; log into PianoInspires.com and go to ‘My Discounts’  to find your discount code. Learn more and register for The Piano Conference by clicking here.

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The Frances Clark Center Announces the 2025 Outstanding Service Recognition Award Recipients

Written By Piano Inspires

PRESS RELEASE: 16 MARCH 2025

The Frances Clark Center Outstanding Service Recognition Awards celebrate the deep dedication and long-standing contributions to the Center by leading professionals in the field. These exceptional individuals sustain and fulfill the mission of the Center by providing ongoing leadership, highest quality expertise, and support for the advancement of piano teaching, learning, and performing.

The Frances Clark Center recognizes the 2025 Frances Clark Center Outstanding Service Recognition Award Recipients. 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 across the country and internationally.

Andrew Cooperstock

David Cartledge

Linda Cockey

Scott Donald

Diana Dumlavwalla

Andrew Gomory

Peter Harisiades

Joel Harrison

Ivan Hurd

Midori Koga

Barbara Kreader

Heather Lanners

Beverly Lapp

Jarrell McAlister

Spencer Myer

Carol Salas

Jeremy Siskind

Bradley Sowash

Chee-Hwa Tan

Leila Viss

Jerry Wong

We are honored to celebrate the recipients of The Frances Clark Center Outstanding Service Recognition Awards. Each individual has devoted extensive time, creativity, leadership, and professional energy to support the advancement of the mission of the Center. The Center has thrived and continues to make an impact because of the extensive and enduring contributions of these leading professionals. We congratulate each of them and express our deepest gratitude.

– Jennifer Snow, President and CEO of the Frances Clark Center

We welcome everyone to join us at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 for a Gala Champagne Reception and Awards Ceremony on Friday, July 25 from 6:00-8:30pm to celebrate our 2025 Outstanding Service Recognition Award winners and Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Click here to reserve Gala tickets.

Already coming to The Piano Conference but need a Gala ticket? Click here.

Mario Ajero, The Future of Piano Teaching in a Digital World | S2E23

Written By Piano Inspires

In this episode of The Piano Inspires Podcast, special guest and technology guru Dr. Mario Ajero joins host Alejandro Cremaschi, as they explore how technology transforms piano education. From the rise of online lessons to the evolution of digital tools, he shares insights on how teachers adapted during COVID-19, the benefits of remote learning, and the future of piano pedagogy in a tech-driven world. Tune in for a fascinating conversation on the intersection of music and technology!

Thank you to our sponsor of this episode, Piano Marvel!

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What to Expect at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025

Written By Sara Ernst, Andrew Cooperstock, Jackie Edwards-Henry, Andy Villemez

From the Performance Practice, Teaching Adults, and Business & Entrepreneurship Committee Chairs

The committees of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 contribute to the program of the conference by curating topic-based tracks from the call for proposals. These unique scheduling blocks allow attendees to explore a series of presentations that have been thematically grouped for a deep learning experience. As we eagerly anticipate NCKP 2025, we asked our committee chairs to give us a sneak peek into their respective tracks of conference programming. Keep reading to see what you can expect in the Performance Practice, Teaching Adults, and Business & Entrepreneurship Committee tracks! Please note that the schedule of The Piano Conference: NCKP is subject to change. The most up-to-date listing can be found here.

Performance Practice

By Andrew Cooperstock, Chair

Saturday, June 7, 2:30-4:30 PM

Thursday, July 24, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM

The Comprehensive Musician

Established in 2023, the Performance Practice Committee intersects naturally with many interests in our community. Indeed, we are interested in education at all levels, inclusivity, research, creativity, collaboration, entrepreneurship, technology, and wellness, and we seek to explore all facets of literature, interpretation, technique, preparation, performance, and more. The Performance Practice Track at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 will feature exciting sessions on practice, technique, and diverse repertoire. 

The online track offerings include a fascinating look at the connection of creative metronome use to historical theories of tempo and expression, providing tips to help students build their sense of pulse and exploring how tempo might be approached today for greater emotional depth. We also look forward to a timely presentation on teaching piano literature in terms of our current educational landscape, including learning styles of Generations Z and Alpha, the impact of AI, and more. In addition, the online event includes “Abby Whiteside’s Legacy: The Open Secret to Pianistic Wellness?,” to explore this fascinating pedagogue’s “transformational concepts through the lens of a personal journey from frustration to facility.” 

The in-person track will feature two lecture recitals and two presentations on a varied and diverse repertoire. Pedaling will be explored through a focused look at Beethoven’s evolving use of the pedal with suggestions for our modern instrument. What do Florence Price and Pierre Boulez have in common?—a connection with The PianoConference location. “Women of the Chicago Black Renaissance” will explore connections among four significant Black women composers active during a period of intense artistic creativity and community-building in that city beginning in the 1930s. In tribute to his 2025 centenary, “Pierre Boulez at 100” will introduce the Chicago Symphony’s esteemed principal guest conductor by way of a practical analysis of his first published piano piece, 12 Notations. An additional joint session will highlight contemporary works by Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban-American composer Tania León and influential Chinese composer Lisan Wang.

The Performance Practice committee hopes that these sessions will inspire attendees to explore standard and new literature with fresh ideas on technique and interpretation.

Musicians performing at The Piano Conference.

Teaching Adults

By Jackie Edwards-Henry, Chair 

Sunday, June 8, 2:00 to 3:30 PM

Friday, July 25, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Piano for Life

Whether adults begin piano study or resume it, their goals are specific and often beyond the simple desire to learn to play music for their own enjoyment. 

The programming selected and featured by the Teaching Adults Committee will help attendees learn about the cognitive benefits of piano lessons, group teaching techniques that may also be used in the independent studio, practice strategies for adults, and best practice teaching tips from highly successful teacher/facilitators of adult students. At the in-person event, presenter Lois Svard will share the findings of her research in “Older Adults Gain Cognitive Benefits from Piano Lessons.” Debra Perez, using the conference keyboard lab, will guide attendees through “Three Enjoyable Group Teaching Techniques Your Older Students Will Appreciate.” The techniques presented may also be adapted for use in independent studios. An additional session in the online track explores practice, “‘I’ll Just Start Over’: How to Help Adult Hobbyists Develop Professional Practicing Skills” by Florence Phillips explores practice. 

Best practice teaching videos selected by the Teaching Adults Committee will be featured in the presentation, “‘What and How’ for the Win with Adults.” In this interactive session, teacher/facilitators will describe their teaching videos and address questions/discussion by attendees. This will be presented twice, featuring different lesson videos in both the online and in-person track. Another online presentation from select committee members will provide insights from adult students, “From Their Mouths to Our Ears: Let’s Hear It Directly from Adult Piano Students.”

Business and Entrepreneurship

By Andrew Villemez, Chair 

Sunday, June 8, 4:00-5:30 PM

Saturday, July 26, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM

Building Bridges Between Art and Entrepreneurship

Imagining yourself as both a pianist and a thriving entrepreneur might seem like juggling two different worlds, but the truth is they’re inseparable. Whether you’re teaching, performing, or creating new projects, the skills you need to build a business are the same ones that allow your artistry to flourish. That’s where the Business and Entrepreneurship Committee steps in. We’re here to help pianists discover how embracing entrepreneurial practices can expand their reach, strengthen their careers, and make a deeper impact in their communities.

For pianists—whether just starting out or already established—entrepreneurship isn’t optional anymore. It’s the key to crafting a meaningful career, allowing you to transform your skills into opportunities that are both sustainable and fulfilling. Our curated sessions at The Piano Conference aim to meet you where you are, whether you’re building your first teaching studio, growing your online presence, or navigating the challenges of expanding your brand.

This year, the programming builds on the momentum of the opening summit. During the summit, the entire community will explore the immediate challenges and opportunities in our field. Inspired by this collective work, our sessions will offer attendees tangible ways to take bold steps forward—no matter where they’re starting from. Topics on the track include launching your own music school, practical steps for content creation, tips for increasing studio profits and wages, and leveraging group teaching and business models for student access. 

Entrepreneurship is not about having all the answers but about asking the right questions. It’s about figuring out where you want to grow and being willing to make mistakes along the way. Whether you’re early in your career or navigating a mid-career pivot, the question isn’t “What if it doesn’t work out?” but “What would I learn if I tried?” The Business and Entrepreneurship track encourages attendees to think deeply about their strengths and challenges and offers tools to navigate both.

Here are a few key strategies to guide your journey:

  1. Lean Into Community: Find peers and mentors who inspire you. A strong network not only shares ideas but also reminds you you’re not alone in your struggles or successes.
  2. Define Your Goals: Clarity and specificity about what you want to achieve—both now and in the future—can shape your decisions in ways that align with your long-term vision.
  3. Keep Moving Forward: Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Small, consistent actions will get you further than waiting for the perfect moment.

At its heart, this committee’s work is about navigating inherent tensions and creating bridges—between artistry and business, between ideas and action, and between your dreams and your reality. It’s a reminder that success is not about avoiding failure; it’s about embracing the challenges that help you grow.

We look forward to seeing you at The Piano Conference, where the possibilities are endless, and the tools to realize them are within reach. Let’s explore this next chapter together.

Join us for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 as we gather together in person and online. The Piano Conference seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing our international community at this inflection point for the profession. Full conference registration includes four days of engagement, including the summit, concerts, keynotes, PEDx presentations, and more, as well as access to the online event and online event archives. Student, Single-Day, and Online-Only registration options are also available. Early-bird registration is available until May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. Subscribers receive an additional 10% off; log into PianoInspires.com and go to ‘My Discounts’  to find your discount code. Learn more and register for The Piano Conference by clicking here.

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This Month in Piano History – March 2025

Written By Megan Hall

THIS MONTH IN PIANO HISTORY we celebrate Black women in jazz, Piano Day, a giant in the music education field, and the birthday of Maurice Ravel. Read more below to learn more about the many historic musical anniversaries in March, a wonderful reminder of the great variety within the world of piano.

March 1 – National Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day

Celebrate Black women in jazz and the arts with Piano Inspires! We celebrate the work of Black women composers Valerie Capers, Estelle Ricketts, and Florence Price in our online course “Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy.” To learn more about Black women composers, enroll in our course today!

Florence Price
Valerie Capers

March 6, 1967 – We Remember Zoltán Kodály

Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, educator, and ethnomusicologist. He is widely remembered for his method of music education, which he first established in Hungary and is now used widely in the United States. On this day in 1967, he passed away in Budapest at the age of 84. To learn more about Kodály and his incredible contributions to the field of music and piano education, click here.

5 Things You Might Not Know About Zoltán Kodály

March 7, 1875 – Birth of Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel was a French composer who is often associated with the Impressionist genre. He attended the Paris Conservatoire and brushed shoulders with many prestigious composers of the day, including Claude Debussy, Erik Satie, Ralph Vaughan Williams, and Gabriel Fauré.
Ravel wrote primarily advanced works, and his Prelude in A Minor is one of the few intermediate pieces in his collection. To learn more about the Prelude in A Minor and how to approach it with your students, watch this video created by Curtis Pavey.

Ravel: Prelude in A Minor

March 29 – Piano Day

March 29 is the 88th day of the year, and the day on which we celebrate pianos, pianists, and piano educators! We believe passionately that pianists and piano teachers change the world through their dedication to their students and communities. If you would like to recognize a powerful piano teacher in your life, consider sharing a tribute in our Power of a Piano Teacher campaign.

OTHER RESOURCES YOU MIGHT ENJOY:
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Wael Farouk and the Rachmaninoff piano oeuvre
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Piano Inspires Podcast: Leila Viss

Written By Leila Viss, Andrea McAlister

To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Leila Viss, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of her conversation with Andrea McAlister. Want to learn more about Viss? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Viss on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

Leila Viss

Andrea McAlister: I do want to go back a little bit to the work you’re doing now, because you are offering a lot of online tools for teachers. I’m really curious about your “composiums” here. So can you tell me about the work you’re doing now with other teachers around the world? 

Leila Viss: Well, I think it comes down to the fact that making music was so important to me. And I am not a published composer or arranger, but I started arranging a lot of things myself, and I loved that. You know, the world faded away when I was working on that project. I’m like, this is feeding my soul. I wonder if other people need to have this too. And then I also created something called Cookie Cutter Composing, which was helping my students compose, and we did eight bars at a time. So we did, you know, section A, then Section B, section A, and it was very rigid, some people would call it, but we were very successful with it. It just happened to come out right before the accident, and then COVID happened. And so I did this with all my students online, and it was perfect. We used Noteflight, so I could see their accounts, all that kind of stuff. So it was, you know, it really helped us all get through a rough time, because we could at least do that creating, you know, yeah, they could play piano. 

But then I sold that resource, but I noticed that people still had questions on it. Teachers were like, well, how do you do this? How do you do that? And I thought, “You know what, I wonder if I need to have some kind of workshop that could help teachers go through the process?” And I don’t know when the word “composium” came to my head. 

AM: I love it, though. 

LV: I like that one. And so I had that feeling of, you know what, if I build it, maybe they’ll come.

I was also inspired by my mother. She is a retired art professor. She’s a quilter, a nationally known quilter. Her quilts are all over the nation, in different galleries, and we’re not talking about just patch work. We’re talking about abstracts, and they’re marvelous. They’re just absolutely gorgeous. But I was always envious of her, because she would go to her quilting workshops, and you bring your sewing machine, you bring your fabric, and you sew with all your other friends, and then you look over their shoulders and see what they’re doing. I thought, now, wouldn’t that be nice if I could do that with a group of teachers, so that we’re all in this atmosphere of, “oh, what are you doing? Oh, that’s cool. Oh, I like that idea.” 

So that brought me to this idea of, well, let’s have eight teachers, and we’ll do eight bars at a time, that kind of a thing. So we’ll piece together, just like we piece a quilt together, we’ll piece together a piece. And now I’m down to six teachers because that was a little bit much, and I have changed maybe a little bit of the format, but it’s a little bit of a piece every time. And then people come, they show us what they’re doing. It’s a very safe environment because I lay down really strict ground rules about how we give feedback. We don’t give feedback. We give feed-forward, those kinds of things so that people can feel comfortable and feel safe. Because I always, when we first listen to a piece, I always tell them that, “Doesn’t it kind of feel like someone’s peeking in your underwear drawer?” Because you know, you’re being very vulnerable, right? 

AM: It does take a lot of courage.

LV: It takes courage, and so I do a lot of mindset things, all those kinds of things, just to get them in the right place.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Piano Inspires Podcast’s latest episode, listen to the entire episode with Leila Viss on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

MORE ON LEILA VISS

  • WEBINAR: Creative Solutions for Online Studio Recitals with Sara Ernst, Rebecca Pennington, Anna Beth Rucker, and Leila Viss
  • PIANO MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Practicing with Backing Tracks by Bradley Sowash
  • PIANO MAGAZINE ARTICLE: May 2018: First Looks: Apps for Teaching by Leila Viss
  • PIANO MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Yes, Technology Can Simplify Your Hectic Teaching Life! by George Litterst, Anna Fagan, Jennifer Foxx, Megan Hughes, Ellen Johansen, Adrienne McKinney, Patti Robertson, and Leila Viss
  • PIANO MAGAZINE ARTICLE: Creating by Chance by Bradley Sowash
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May 2018: First Looks: Apps for Teaching
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Leila Viss, Sparking Creativity and Curiosity in Piano Education | S2 E22

Written By Piano Inspires

Host Andrea McAlister is joined by Leila Viss, who shares how creativity, curiosity, and flexibility can transform piano education. She discusses the power of improvisation, adapting lessons to students’ needs, and encouraging exploration beyond the written score. Tune in for inspiring insights on making piano learning more engaging and dynamic.

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What to Expect at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025

Written By Sara Ernst, Jason Sifford, Janet Tschida, Jeremy Siskind

From the Creative Music Making, Independent Studio Teachers, and Young Musicians Committee Chairs

The committees of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 contribute to the program of the conference by curating topic-based tracks from the call for proposals. These unique scheduling blocks allow attendees to explore a series of presentations that have been thematically grouped for a deep learning experience. As we eagerly anticipate NCKP 2025, we asked our committee chairs to give us a sneak peek into their respective tracks of conference programming. Keep reading to see what you can expect in the Creative Music Making, Independent Music Teachers, and Young Musicians tracks! Please note that the schedule of The Piano Conference: NCKP is subject to change. The most up-to-date listing can be found here.

Creative Music Making

By Jeremy Siskind, Chair

It happens every time you attend a conference: You leave inspired and motivated to incorporate improvisation into your lessons. But once you get home and start teaching, the reality of the limitation of a 30- or 45-minute lesson sets in.

“Integrating Improvisation into Piano Lessons” is a guided experience designed to help you combat the “30-minute lesson malaise.” These sessions will guide you through three different approaches real teachers use to combat time constraints and achieve the goal of fostering creativity in their studio. The three approaches are: 1) integrating improvisation consistently across lessons, 2) dedicating specific times for improvisation, such as an “Improv Week,” and 3) starting each lesson with a jam session.

The three presenters will first lead a hands-on experiential session in The Piano Conference’s keyboard lab in which attendees will play the role of students, receiving a lesson in improvisation. Then, all the participants will gather together to hear the teachers describe their approaches, reflect on best practices, and explore how they use improvisation to foster creativity and help students develop pianistic skills.

Independent Music Teachers

The Studio Track

By Jason Sifford, Chair 

The work of a music teacher is complicated. On any given day, we may wear the hats of artists, historians, coaches, employees, business owners, psychologists, and mentors. Each of us has their own unique combination of skills, interests, and experiences that make us the teacher we are. What we do have in common, however, is that we each spend our most valuable time with our students, helping them to become the kinds of musicians they wish to be. That’s why this year we’re proud to offer attendees something we like to call “The Studio Track!”

Hosted by the Independent Music Teachers committee, this year’s track brings you a variety of sessions to help you establish a musically productive studio culture. We’ll explore studio models and understand the changing ways in which teachers are going about their work in the 21st century. We’ll tackle the world of lead sheets and chord charts in an engaging group class in the keyboard lab. We’ll learn how cutting-edge thinking on habit formation can help students become expert practicers. And for those of us who work with students on the quiet side, we’ll find ways to connect with our more timid students in a world that too often promotes and rewards extroversion.

Regardless of the repertoire, genre, or studio model you work in, we hope you’ll join us in the important work of helping students think of themselves as confident and capable musicians, embracing their artistic souls regardless of wherever else their lives may lead.

Young Musicians—Birth to Age Nine

Connecting the Dots: Holistic Learning from Day 1

By Janet Tschida, Chair 

Implementing a holistic approach to cultivating musicianship in young students can be transformative! Children who learn to listen with their whole bodies develop a lifelong love of music-making. The Young Musicians Committee desires to support The Piano Conference’s  flourishing community of piano instructors by intersecting with holistic music specialists. Accordingly, theYoung Musicians track will feature specialists in Dalcroze, Kodály, Music Learning Theory, and more, who will help us “connect the dots” in developing our students’ inner musician!

During the online event in June, Kodály specialist Megan Hall will present “‘I Know that Song!” At this session, we will learn how traditional melodies can ignite a passion for singing and playing the piano, develop aural skills, and encourage music reading. Hall will share the benefits of teaching through the lens of folk music along with practical tools for applying the power of a folk song in the piano studio.

After Hall’s session, Christina Whitlock’s presentation “The Paradox of Play: Taking Fun Seriously” will challenge us to question what it means to “play” our instrument and how that often contrasts with the traditional lesson experience. In this light-hearted exploration into the art of serious play, Whitlock will help us understand why we learn more effectively through play than any other process, and how true play involves a consistent approach throughout the lesson, not one isolated activity.

“Let’s Get Moving! Eurythmics Applications in the Private Studio” will be our first main conference session in July. Dalcroze specialist Katie Ostrosky will introduce us to the Dalcrozian mindset—students learn through experience, discovery, and use of the whole body. As our students learn to engage their whole body with purposeful movement, they will develop a heightened sense of rhythm, expressiveness, and joy in their music. Come ready to move!

On our second day, Music Learning Theory specialist Scarlette Kerr will demonstrate how piano technique is a natural extension of what musicians embody through movement and rhythmic audiation during her session “‘Musiking’ with the Mind and Body.” Building on Kerr’s presentation, Michael Clark will share his fun and innovative, five-part strategy for making technical instruction effective and engaging through Exercises, Rote pieces, Imagery, Cues, and Activities (“ERICA”). To demonstrate how we can apply the pedagogical principles of ERICA to any aspect of piano technique. Clark will illustrate ERICA with a sampling of pianistic techniques.

We invite you to network with like-minded professionals at our Young Musicians social event, “Connecting the Dots: An Interactive Resource Share.” Finding resources to transition from early childhood music and movement to study on an instrument can be challenging. During this interactive resource share, we will unwind from the day by engaging in activities that develop our students’ inner musician including fun folk dances, movement activities, folk songs sung in canon, and more! Attendees will be given a description of activities and recommended resource list. 

Join us for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 as we gather together in person and online. The Piano Conference seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing our international community at this inflection point for the profession. Full conference registration includes four days of engagement, including the summit, concerts, keynotes, PEDx presentations, and more, as well as access to the online event and online event archives. Student, Single-Day, and Online-Only registration options are also available. Save an additional 10% on Early-Bird registration now through Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific. Use discount code 10EARLY at checkout. Early-bird registration is available until May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. Learn more and register by clicking here.

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Teaching Demonstration (NCKP Rebroadcast)
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The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 Schedule Announcement

Written By Piano Inspires

We are pleased to announce the schedule of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025!

Returning to the Westin Chicago Lombard Hotel (Lombard, IL), The Piano Conference features a new, innovative in-person summit. This opening one-day summit engages the full community and provides a gathering for all to collectively share, dialogue, and exchange ideas. The Piano Conference continues with three additional days of selected conference sessions as well as keynotes, concerts, and curated PEDx. The conference will also include an online event on June 7-8, 2025 to facilitate broad and international access.

View the In-Person Conference Schedule here.

View the Online Conference Schedule here.

It’s not too late to be on the program! You can still participate by presenting Collegiate Connections projects, E-posters, Performances, and Teaching Demonstrations.

Join us for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 as we gather together in person and online. The Piano Conference seeks to explore the challenges and opportunities facing our international community at this inflection point for the profession. Full conference registration includes four days of engagement, including the summit, concerts, keynotes, PEDx presentations, and more, as well as access to the online event and online event archives. Student, Single-Day, and Online-Only registration options are also available. Save an additional 10% on Early-Bird registration now through Saturday, March 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM Pacific. Use discount code 10EARLY at checkout. Early-bird registration is available until May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. Learn more and register by clicking here.

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Teaching Demonstration (NCKP Rebroadcast)
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Piano Inspires Podcast: Gail Berenson

Written By Gail Berenson, Alejandro Cremaschi

To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Gail Berenson, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of her conversation with Alejandro Cremaschi. Want to learn more about Berenson? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Berenson on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

Gail Berenson

Gail Berenson: This was back in the mid 80s and there was no such thing.

Alejandro Cremaschi: Nothing. I think this topic in general was kind of either ignored or avoided or dismissed.

GB: Yeah, I mean, if you injured yourself, many people would drop out because they didn’t know how to fix it, or they didn’t know how to get past it. And if you were injured, I know Alice [Brandfonbrener] had done research on musicians in orchestras, and they were afraid to say anything to the conductor for fear they’d be fired. So taking that course was a monumental thing, and I came back and I said, “I’d like to initiate a new course.” So I went through all the development things of setting a new course in place, and in 1989 we offered the first course.

It was at that time, or maybe it was a little bit earlier, but it was at that time that other organizations were initiating wellness committees. The National Flute Association, they had a wellness committee. Richard Chronister came to me and said, “Would you put a committee together for [then] NCPP?” [now The Piano Conference: NCKP] at that time. That was 1989. Linda Cockey was one of the people that I called on. I mean, it was a huge committee. I mean, Corolla Grandia, who was from the UK, came in to be a part of that committee. I mean, you know, we’re only meeting once every other year, but, of course, we would do all this correspondence. And it was fantastic. It was sort of like birthing a baby, you know, it really was. 

AC: It’s like putting this topic that nobody was actually discussing in the first role.

GB: Right. And then it sort of grew from there. That was the first one that I was involved in. And then in 2012 I went to some ISME Conferences, the International Society for Music Education, and one of the members of the forum that I was a part of, this was the first committee that dealt with applied instruction and one-on-one instruction because everything else was music ed related. There was a person on that committee who was very interested in musicians’ health. And she said, “Would you start something for us here?” So I did, and that committee was the Committee on Musicians Health and Wellness Special Interest Group. It’s been going, well, since 2012. And then in 2015 College Music Society decided to start. 

I’m finding that that field has expanded so much because we always thought it started out dealing with how to recover from an injury. And then it was okay, how do we prevent an injury from coming? Okay, and then it was well, what about all the other aspects of wellness [and] performance anxiety.

AC: Which are so interconnected in the end. I mean, you can’t really treat an injury. Injuries can be also devastating psychologically. 

GB: Absolutely.

AC: So we have to treat the whole person.

GB: Then the other is an issue of vision. It turns out that music teachers are the first to find out that some students, children especially, have issues with vision, where the notes bounce around—it’s a muscle imbalance. It’s not, I mean, they can go to an optometrist and be tested. They have 20-20 vision, and the optometrist says, “You’re good to go.” But they’re getting headaches, and they can’t see the notes, and they keep bobbing their [heads] trying to find a way to read. And it impacts how they read everything. It’s not just music.

AC: Yeah, this is also important, such important work and, yeah, just getting that information out.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Piano Inspires Podcast’s latest episode, listen to the entire episode with Gail Berenson on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

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Reflections on the Frances Clark Center 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
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Gail Berenson, The Power of Mentorship in Shaping Pianists and Educators | S2 E21

Written By Piano Inspires

In this episode of The Piano Inspires Podcast, Dr. Gail Berenson reflects on the transformative role of mentorship in piano education. She shares personal stories about the teachers who shaped her journey, the importance of guiding the next generation, and how collaborative learning creates lasting impact. With insights on pedagogy, musical growth, and lifelong learning, Gail offers an inspiring look at the relationships that define a pianist’s path.

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Breaking Stereotypes: Indigenous Composers Defining New Musical Frontiers

Written By Connor Chee

We would like to thank Connor Chee for this insightful article on Indigenous composers. To read the full article, click here. The Frances Clark Center is excited to share our latest publication: Weaving Sounds: Elementary Piano Pieces by Native and Indigenous Composers, compiled and edited by Connor Chee and Renata Yazzie. Learn more and get your copy today by clicking here.

Connor Chee.

The autumn 2024 Piano Magazine article, “Breaking Stereotypes,” explored the deeply ingrained misconceptions surrounding Indigenous music and how important it is to approach these traditions with an open mind. For many, Indigenous music conjures images of static, ancient traditions—locked in time and space, unchanged by modern influences. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Indigenous music, like any art form, is dynamic, evolving, and as complex as the many cultures from which it originates.

Today, Indigenous composers are redefining what it means to create music, blending traditional elements with contemporary sounds, working across genres, and in some cases, pushing the boundaries of what music itself can be.

Here, a group of composers who are challenging the stereotypes surrounding Indigenous music are introduced. Each of them brings a unique perspective to the musical landscape, crafting works that defy simplistic categorization. The works of these seven composers are proof that Indigenous music is not confined to the past but is very much alive and thriving in the present. Their work speaks to the diversity of modern Indigenous music and serves as a reminder that Indigenous composers should be given the freedom to explore new ideas, without being pigeonholed by expectations.

Raven Chacon (Diné)

Perhaps no one epitomizes breaking musical barriers quite like Raven Chacon. In 2022, he became the first Native composer to win the Pulitzer Prize in music for his piece Voiceless Mass, a powerful and avant-garde work that challenges our understanding of what music is supposed to be. Chacon is known for his experimental approach, working across media such as noise music, chamber music, and visual art installations. His music does not always reference his Navajo heritage directly, but rather embodies the spirit of innovation and exploration that drives his work as a composer.

In Voiceless Mass, Chacon utilizes silence as a compositional tool, creating tension and unsettling spaces where the absence of sound carries as much weight as the sounds themselves. The piece, composed for organ and ensemble, explores ideas of representation and marginalization— who has a voice and who does not. Chacon’s music defies the notion that Indigenous composers must focus solely on traditional elements, offering instead a modern and avant-garde take on composition that breaks free from expectation.

"His [Chanon's] music does not always reference his Navajo heritage directly, but rather embodies the spirit of innovation and exploration that drives his work as a composer." - C. Chee

Jessica McMann/V. Jessica Sparvier-Wells (Cree)

Jessica McMann, who is in the process of reclaiming her birth name and will soon be known as Virginia Jessica Sparvier-Wells, is a composer and flutist whose work artfully merges classical music with Indigenous traditions. Her compositions and performances are deeply connected to land, Indigenous identity, history, and language, reflecting a rich engagement with her Cree heritage. She often weaves Cree language and cultural elements into her music, enriching her classical training with a distinct cultural voice. McMann’s creative practice extends beyond traditional composition, focusing on land-based creation, where the themes of connection, disconnection, and home emerge as central to her work. This approach emphasizes the powerful ties between music, place, and identity, as she explores the intersections between the personal and the cultural, grounding her soundscapes in both the physical and spiritual aspects of Indigenous life.

Her work is a reminder that Indigenous composers are not bound by one medium or cultural tradition. McMann’s compositions break away from the stereotype that Indigenous music exists in a vacuum, disconnected from Western classical music or contemporary soundscapes. Instead, she skillfully weaves her cultural heritage into her music, making it clear that these two worlds can coexist and enrich one another.

Jeremy Dutcher (Wolastoqiyik)

Jeremy Dutcher is an artist whose work defies easy classification. A classically trained tenor and performer, Dutcher’s album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa won the Polaris Music Prize for its blend of classical and Indigenous Wolastoqiyik music. He recorded the album after a research project on archival recordings of traditional Wolastoqiyik songs at the Canadian Museum of History, many of which are no longer being passed down to the tribe’s youth. What makes Dutcher’s work on this album particularly powerful is how it incorporates archival recordings of traditional Wolastoqiyik songs, reworking them into new, contemporary forms that include their traditional singing style.

By bringing the voices of his ancestors into the present, Dutcher’s music is a dialogue between the past and the future. His songs are a testament to the idea that Indigenous music is not static or locked in the past but is a living, evolving tradition. Dutcher shows that Indigenous musicians can both honor their heritage and innovate within it, creating music that is as forward-thinking as it is deeply rooted in cultural memory.

We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Connor Chee’s article, “Breaking Stereotypes: Indigenous Composers Defining New Musical Frontiers.” Read the entire article by clicking here, and learn about Indigenous composers, including Beverley McKiver (Anishinaabe), Brent Michael Davids (Mohican/Munsee Lenape), Jerod Tate (Chickasaw), Dawn Avery (Mohawk), and Sonny-Ray Day Rider (Blackfoot).

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Breaking Stereotypes: Indigenous Composers Defining New Musical Frontiers
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Piano Inspires Podcast: Courtney Crappell

Written By Courtney Crappell, Jennifer Snow

To celebrate the latest episode of the Piano Inspires Podcast featuring Courtney Crappell, we are sharing an excerpted transcript of his conversation with Jennifer Snow. Want to learn more about Crappell? Check out the latest installment of the Piano Inspires Podcast. To learn more, visit pianoinspires.com. Listen to our latest episode with Crappell on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

Courtney Crappell

Jennifer Snow: What is your thought—as somebody who’s running an institution of higher learning—about the role of musicians in the world today? With the level of disruption and change we see, what are we preparing people for?

Courtney Crappell: I love that question. When I look at what we’ve been doing in academia or even as piano teachers, I think that our view has been much too narrow. I think a lot of people are figuring this out now, because the impact we can have is so much larger than where we’ve thought it would be, and that’s really exciting. 

So let me be more specific, I guess, about that. If your kid is going to go to university and say, “Oh, I’m going to major in music.” And you’re like, “Okay, well, that’s going to be hard. How are you going to have a career?” And thoughts, you know, really, people have a binary impression of what you do with that.

JS: Right.

CC: You’re going to perform, and if that doesn’t work out, or maybe, you know, if it is your passion, you’re going to teach. And it’s this this-or-that mentality. Of course, we, who’ve been in it, know there’s a lot of other pathways there, but we haven’t done a good job of letting the rest of the world know that. Really, we have such an opportunity to let more people know of the impact of the arts. So I feel like we really, I mean the teaching-performing, binary approach, we’ve been looking through the peephole in the door, and it’s time to open the whole door. 

When I talk to groups of parents with their students who are auditioning, I say the arts are all around you. They’re in the phones, the sounds your phones make. They’re in the clothes you’re wearing. They’re on the billboards you see on the side of the road. They’re everywhere. Employers are looking for creatives to hire, and I do believe that this understanding that the arts are part of the lives, rather than this optional add-on at the end of the day, “All right, we’re focused on your STEM preparation for a career. Now, let’s go tack on some piano lessons, because you gotta.” 

Two, the piano lessons are the fuel for creativity in the STEM fields. You know, as recently in Boston I was talking to an MIT faculty member [who is] retired now, but she was part of—the center doesn’t exist anymore—the Center for Advanced Visual Studies. And it was a group of people who believed that the marriage of technology and the arts was going to unlock significant secrets, you know, was going to lead to discoveries that couldn’t happen, or even just fuel the discoveries in specific disciplines. It’s fascinating to see work like that, because you think, MIT, well, we don’t really question the value of MIT, right? Like there’s IP coming out. We take it for granted these days, but look at music, theater and the arts at MIT. It’s the fuel for that. 

So where are we going? I mean, institutions like mine. I’m at a public state university, and I think there’s some degree plans that we’ve really not been focused on as academic faculty in the arts, specifically the liberal arts, Bachelor of Arts degrees, which are intended to prepare people for a broad variety of pathways. And you know, maybe this prediction won’t come true, but I think that the Bachelor of Arts degree is going to become a large focus for us, and more so than the Bachelor of Music degrees, which are performance-based. There’s not enough room in the degree plans. We continue to try to make them more modern and relevant to help these students be successful. So, you know, we’ve done things like, “All right, do your Bachelor of Music, but you should also do an arts entrepreneurship program, because you’re going to need that.” 

Well, what if you did a Bachelor of Arts degree, and you just build this into a broader portfolio? Whether it’s, you know, college prep programs at high schools for the arts or undergraduate degrees that are launch pads into other careers, we know these pathways exist because people have those jobs. You know, I talked to scientists who trained as musicians, lawyers who were actors. The list goes on and on and on. We know that happens, and we’ll talk about that when we’re promoting the value of the arts, study in the arts; but we, I don’t think we’ve put our money where our mouth is to say, let’s really invest in that. Let’s commit to those programs. So I feel like we’re on the cusp. Like I said, we just need to open the door, and there’s concerns about shrinking budgets or low recruiting numbers, those problems won’t exist if people understand the value. So that’s where I think we’re heading.

JS: That’s exciting.

If you enjoyed this excerpt from Piano Inspires Podcast’s latest episode, listen to the entire episode with Courtney Crappell on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or our website!

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Twenty-First Century Pedagogy: A Whole New World Again
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Courtney Crappell, Embracing Innovation and Growth in Piano Education | S2 E20

Written By Piano Inspires

In this episode of The Piano Inspires Podcast, Jennifer Snow is joined by Courtney Crappell who discusses the evolving world of piano education and the power of lifelong learning. He shares how starting piano later in life shaped his approach to teaching, the importance of breaking down complex skills, and how embracing different musical traditions can transform the way we learn and teach. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on innovation, adaptability, and inspiring students in new ways.

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