Clefer
Booth: 101
Promo Code: TBD
TBD
Giveaway: Come try the Clefer app at our booth and you’ll be entered to win a $500 gift card to your favorite music store.
Schedule:
TBD
Showcase Schedule:
Exhibitor Profile – Clefer
News
5 Things You Might Not Know About Philippa Schuyler
We would like to thank Sarah Masterson for this article on pianist and composer Philippa Schuyler. Interested in learning more about Philippa Schuyler? Attend her session at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 on Thursday, July 24 from 11:30 AM – 11:55 AM in Lilac B. Learn more and register for the conference here.
1. Famous as a child prodigy, Schuyler wrote fifty compositions by age ten.
Composing by age four, Schuyler began performing her own music in concerts at age six. Her childhood works tend to be related to events in her life or books she read. For example, the book 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights inspired her Suite from the Arabian Nights, while Cockroach Ballet tells the story of the roaches that lived in her kitchen. In1946, at age 15, Time Magazine called her the “brightest young composer in the U.S.”1
2. She performed in approximately 80 countries on five continents.
When Schuyler was 19, she embarked on her first solo concert tour, without any chaperone, beginning with a performance at the 1950 inauguration of Haitian president Paul Magloire. Traveling nearly continuously, Schuyler went on to visit 35 countries on five continents by age 23. Her first adult compositions arrange folk music heard on her travels.
3. As a journalist, she reported on the 1960 Congo Crisis.
In 1960, Schuyler was invited to perform for the inauguration of the new Congolese president and prime minister on the occasion of the Congo’s independence from Belgium. In the days following, the country descended into chaos. Rather than immediately fleeing the violence, Schuyler stayed several days to try to get the story, only leaving for her next concert engagement in Ghana. In subsequent months, she interviewed survivors in Belgium and returned to the Congo, reporting on the violence resulting from the state of Katanga’s recent secession. She remained there for weeks, investigating politics and possible war crimes.
4. She premiered her piano concerto Nile Fantasy with the Cairo Symphony in 1965.
Schuyler’s piano concerto Nile Fantasy premiered with the Cairo Symphony in December 1965, with Schuyler at the piano and Dennis Gray Stoll at the podium. Its four movements—“Rebellion,” “Inshallah,” “The Terror,” and “The Road to Victory”—orchestrate sections from her White Nile Suite and Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The concerto’s final documented performance occurred at Schuyler’s 1967 memorial.
5. She spent months reporting on the Vietnam War, buying fatigues on the black market to “view ACTION.”2
In September 1966, Schuyler traveled to Vietnam to perform at the Saigon Conservatory and stayed to report on the war. On a second trip in 1967, she spent most of her time in Hue. Disguising herself as Vietnamese, she hid with locals to avoid mandatory evacuation, unwilling to leave “at the very moment that Hue [was] becoming interesting.”3 She helped evacuate women, children, and clergy to safer areas, getting them on military flights and, by her count, evacuating over seventy people. It was on one of those flights that she died at age 35, when her helicopter crashed yards from shore.
Footnotes and Sources
1. “Music: Original Girl,” Time, March 25, 1946. https://time.com/archive/6824347/music-original-girl/.
2. Philippa Schuyler to Josephine Schuyler, September 15, 1966, box 73, folder 4, Schuyler Family Papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division, New York, NY.
3. Philippa Schuyler to Father Lyons, n.d., box 22, folder 1, Schuyler Family Papers, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division, New York, NY.
Masterson, Sarah. Snapshots of Forgotten Adventures: Rediscovering the Piano Music of Philippa Schuyler. Pomaria: Tyger River Books, 2024.
“Music: Original Girl.” Time Magazine, March 25, 1946. https://time.com/archive/6824347/music-original-girl
Schuyler Family Audio. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Moving Image and Recorded Sound Division, New York, New York.
Schuyler Family Papers. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Books Division, New York, New York.
Schuyler, Philippa Duke. Adventures in Black and White. Edited by Tara Betts. New York: 2Leaf Press, 2018.
Talalay, Kathryn. Composition in Black and White: The Tragic Saga of Harlem’s Biracial Prodigy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
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Exhibitor Profile – TOMGEROUMUSIC.COM®
TOMGEROUMUSIC.COM®
Booth: 103
Promo Code: TBD
TBD
Giveaway: TBD
Schedule:
TBD
Exhibitor Profile – Piano Detectives Club
Piano Detectives Club
Booth: 111
Promo Code: TBD
TBD
Giveaway: TBD
Schedule:
TBD
Exhibitor Profile – Serenade Your Studio
Serenade Your Studio
Booth: 601
Promo Code: TBD
TBD
Giveaway: Stop by booth 601 for your FREE gift!
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Exhibitor Profile – Modartt
Exhibitor Profile – University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
Supporting Lifetime Achievement Sponsor
Booth: College Row
Application Deadline: December 1, 2025
For application information and auditions, visit https://www.ou.edu/finearts/music/apply.
Giveaway: TBD
Schedule:
Visit with OU faculty Sara Ernst and J. P. Murphy during Exhibit Hall hours, Thursday at 12:30 & 5:00, Friday at 1:00 and 5:00, and Saturday at 10am.
Celebrate Barbara Fast, OU professor emerita, at the Gala Champagne Reception and Awards Ceremony on July 25, 6:00pm.
Exhibitor Profile – Kawai
Last Chance to Participate – The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
Last chance to participate in The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025! The deadline to submit Collegiate Connections, E-Posters, Performances, and Teaching Demonstrations is Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific.
Collegiate Connections
We invite collegiate groups in pedagogy, repertoire, and related performance classes along with their faculty to participate. Projects may cover a wide range of topics such as creative teaching, lecture and musical presentations, community engagement, and business entrepreneurship. We welcome all group proposals; note that proposals by individual presenters will not be considered.
E-Poster Proposals
The Piano Conference seeks e-poster presentations from educators, researchers, and performers, and encourages proposals from emerging professionals and students. E- posters can include topics related to general pedagogy or those based upon research.
Performances
The in-person conference program will include an inspiring main-stage concert highlighting multiple performers from the community. Ideal concert selections will bring awareness to expanding the piano repertoire with music by underrepresented composers and pieces that are lesser known.
Teaching Demonstration Videos
The Piano Conference seeks to highlight excellence in teaching practice and music learning, and calls for submissions of piano lesson videos for the plenary teaching demonstrations, online and in person. All piano educators, emerging professionals, and students are welcome to submit videos.
Full conference registration includes four days of engagement, including the Innovation 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.
All are invited to join us for the NCKP Innovation Summit on Wednesday, July 23, starting at 9:00 AM. Through dynamic collaboration, bold idea-sharing, and inspiring discussions, we’ll work together to build a forward-thinking vision for teaching and learning. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to innovate, connect, and help redefine what’s possible—your ideas matter! Take the Pre-Summit survey here.
Not sure if you will attend? Check out our schedule to see everything you can learn at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025!
Early-bird registration is available until May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific.
Missed the special discount on The Piano Conference: NCKP? Subscribers receive an additional 10% off registration. Log in to pianoinspires.com and navigate to ‘My Discounts’ to retrieve your discount code.
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88 Keys in 88 Hours – Thank You to Our Donors
Share your love of the piano and help support The Frances Clark Center by “purchasing” a virtual piano key during our 88 Keys in 88 Hours donation campaign for Piano Day 2025! Starting tomorrow, our virtual piano keys will be available for a range of amounts, starting at $5. Your donation will help us continue providing the highest quality resources and programs for piano teaching, learning, and performing.
As a nonprofit educational organization, we rely heavily on your donations to continue offering high-quality programs. Our inspiring mission supports pianists and teachers as they impact lives, influence communities, and change the world. We welcome you as a “key” donor this year as we work together to support our community and advance the profession.
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Exhibitor Profile – PianoArts
PianoArts
Booth: 603
Promo Code: TBD.
TBD.
Giveaway: TBD.
Booth Schedule:
TBD.
TBD.
Showcase Schedule:
Exhibitor Profile – The Royal Conservatory of Music
The Royal Conservatory of Music
Prelude sponsor of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
Booths: 204 & 303
Promo Code: TBD
TBD
Giveaway:
TBD
Showcase Schedule:
Exhibitor Profile – Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Prelude sponsor of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
Booths: 104 & 203
Promo Code: TBD
TBD
Giveaway:
TBD
Showcase Schedule:
Piano Day 2025 – Coming Soon!
Share your love of the piano and help support The Frances Clark Center by “purchasing” a virtual piano key during our 88 Keys in 88 Hours donation campaign for Piano Day 2025! Starting tomorrow, our virtual piano keys will be available for a range of amounts, starting at $5. Your donation will help us continue providing the highest quality resources and programs for piano teaching, learning, and performing.
Your name will be listed on your chosen key on the 88 Key Donor Board on our website throughout the year. You can even buy a key in honor of a teacher or mentor to express your appreciation for the impact they have made in your life.
As a member of our community, we welcome you to support The Frances Clark Center and its divisions: The New School for Music Study, The Piano Conference: NCKP, Piano Magazine, Piano Inspires Kids, The Journal of Piano Research, Piano Education Press, Online Teacher Education, and PianoInspires.com.
As a nonprofit educational organization, we rely heavily on your donations to continue offering high-quality programs. Our inspiring mission supports pianists and teachers as they impact lives, influence communities, and change the world. We welcome you as a “key” donor this year as we work together to support our community and advance the profession.
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- DISCOVERY PAGE: She Really Took a Chance on Me by Asia Passmore
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- DISCOVERY PAGE: A Symphony of Gratitude by Ricardo Pozenatto
- DISCOVERY PAGE: Honoring Amy Merkley and Irene Peery-Fox by Hyrum Arnesen
- DISCOVERY PAGE: Reflections on My Piano Teacher | Honoring Fern Davidson by Marvin Blickenstaff
- DISCOVERY PAGE: Every Student Has a Voice the World Needs to Hear | Honoring Carole Ann Kriewaldt by Leah Claiborne
Not yet a subscriber? Join for only $7.99/mo or $36/yr.
DEIA Statement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Resolution
by the Board of Trustees
of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy March 2025
At the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, we stand united in our commitment to fostering an environment where diversity, equity, inclusion, and access are not only ideals but the very foundation of our practice. We recognize that these terms may hold different meanings for different individuals, and we approach them with humility, openness, and a willingness to listen and learn.
Our Board of Trustees reaffirms that every voice—regardless of background, identity, or circumstance—has a vital role in shaping our community and advancing the art and science of keyboard pedagogy. In upholding these values, we also affirm our commitment to complying fully with all applicable federal, state, and local laws as they pertain to nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and civil rights.
We honor our legacy of radical inclusivity by ensuring that our comprehensive resources, courses, and innovative offerings remain accessible and responsive to the evolving needs of our diverse learners. Our curated publications and thoughtfully designed curriculum reflect a broad spectrum of cultural perspectives and pedagogical insights, promoting a richer understanding of keyboard performance and education. Furthermore, our community impact grants serve as a tangible commitment to invest in initiatives that empower underrepresented groups, break down barriers, and nurture creative talent across all communities.
As we embrace the future, we pledge to continuously evaluate and enhance our practices, ensuring that equity and inclusivity remain at the forefront of our strategic vision. This commitment guides every decision we make—from course development to resource allocation, and from community engagement to scholarly research. We are steadfast in our mission to provide a dynamic, supportive, and inclusive platform where every individual is welcomed, valued, and inspired to achieve excellence in keyboard pedagogy.
Signed by Sam Holland, Chair, 25 March 2025