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This Month in Piano History – February 2025

Written By Curtis Pavey

February is a month of reflection and celebration as we observe Black History Month and Valentine’s Day. It is also a time of remembrance and commemoration as we recall many important composers and pianists. Read below to discover more about a famous pianist and showman, the lives of two different composers, and a celebrated American who received the Gershwin Prize.

Liberace.

February 4 – Liberace Day

Liberace, born as Władziu Valentino Liberace, passed away on February 4, 1987 at age 67. February 4th is celebrated as “Liberace Day” to remember his work and impact. A remarkable pianist and TV personality, Liberace inspired millions of people with his exciting performances featuring his legendary showmanship. His career began to take off after a performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age twenty, as well as due to many performances of jazz and other musical styles at nightclubs.1 It did not take long for him to become a worldwide sensation with massive record sales and performances in important venues around the globe.2 Curious to hear a performance of Liberace? Watch this video featuring Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance.

Liberace performs Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance.

February 10, 1816 – Birth of Albert Ellmenreich

Albert Ellmenreich, the composer of the popular intermediate work Spinning Song, was born on February 10, 1816 in Karlsruhe, Germany. Although not much is known about his life, we do know that he regularly performed on stage as an actor, musician, and dancer. Do you have a student who wants to learn the Spinning Song? Check out this video by Julie Knerr who provides valuable pedagogical tips to help prepare a successful performance:

Ellmenreich: Spinning Song

February 16, 1987 – The Death of Kabalevsky

Kabalevsky Toccatina, Op. 27, No. 12

On February 16, we remember Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky, a remarkable composer of works for both the developing musician and the concert pianist. A graduate and later professor of the Moscow Conservatory, Kabalevsky began writing music for children early in his career.3 He is known as a pedagogical composer for his imaginative character pieces that span all levels of the pianist’s repertoire. One of his many popular pieces, “Toccatina” from Thirty Pieces for Children, Op. 27, has been a staple of early-intermediate repertoire. In the video below, watch as Elvina Pearce shares pedagogical wisdom from her experience teaching this piece:

February 25, 2009 – Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song Awardee

On February 25, 2009, Stevie Wonder was announced as the winner of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Born on May 13, 1950, Stevie Wonder has captivated listeners worldwide with his incredible talent. Wonder became blind shortly after his birth and has led an exceptional life as a concert artist and musician.4 Want to see an early recording of Wonder singing and performing at the piano? Watch the video below to see him in action as he performs “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing” from 1974:

Stevie Wonder performs “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing.”
NOTES
  1. Martha Woodward and Robert Skinner, “Liberace,” Grove Music Online, 2001, Accessed 4 Feb. 2025, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000047008.
  2. Woodward and Skinner, “Liberace,” Grove Music Online.
  3. Dina Grigor′yevna Daragan, “Kabalevsky, Dmitry Borisovich,” Grove Music Online, 2001; Accessed 4 Feb. 2025, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014573.
  4. David Brackett, “Wonder, Stevie,” Grove Music Online, 31 Jan. 2014; Accessed 4 Feb. 2025, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002259424.
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Kabalevsky: Running Along, Op. 39, No. 6
SourceS

Brackett, David. “Wonder, Stevie.” Grove Music Online. 31 Jan. 2014; Accessed 4 Feb. 2025. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002259424. 

Daragan, Dina Grigor′yevna. “Kabalevsky, Dmitry Borisovich.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 4 Feb. 2025. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000014573. 

Woodward, Martha, and Robert Skinner. “Liberace.” Grove Music Online. 2001; Accessed 4 Feb. 2025. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000047008. 

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Celebrate the Power of a Piano Lesson This Valentine’s Day

Written By Heather Smith, Piano Inspires
A teacher from the New School for Music Study with a student at the piano.

Music has the power to transform lives, and it all starts with a single lesson. This Valentine’s Day, show your love for music and the teachers who make it possible by donating the value of one piano lesson to the Power of a Piano Lesson campaign.

At The Frances Clark Center, we believe in the transformative potential of music education. Piano teachers are at the heart of our mission, inspiring students to develop a lifelong love of music while building skills that reach far beyond the keys.

What can one piano lesson do?
By donating the cost of just one lesson, you will:

  • Empower educators with innovative teaching resources and professional development.
  • Provide high-quality programs that support pianists and teachers around the world.
  • Foster a global community that connects and inspires through music education.

Your gift of one piano lesson can make a lasting impact.

Whether you are a teacher, a student, a pianist, or someone who values the power of music, your donation helps sustain programs that nurture the next generation of musicians and educators.

This Valentine’s Day, let’s celebrate music and the educators who make it all possible. Your support helps shape the future of piano education—one lesson at a time.

Give the gift. Share your love. Make a difference.

Donate here

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The Power of a Piano Teacher
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Piano Inspires Podcast: Barbara Fast

Written By Barbara Fast, Pamela Pike

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

Barbara Fast

Pamela Pike: I’m going to ask a pointed question, because I think it might be interesting to our listeners. I didn’t mention this in the bio, but you are one of the co-founders of GP3 [Group Piano/Piano Pedagogy Forum], and if I know this story correctly, that idea developed and blossomed while you were a Ph.D. student. 

Barbara Fast: Yes.

PP: So talk about the beginnings. Obviously, you saw a need. You saw an opening. But what does it take to take something from an idea in a restaurant, to something that twenty however many years later is just this really important conference that we have?

BF: Well, I credit Michelle Conda, and it was a restaurant in Norman. [I was a] doctoral student. She said, “Barbara, have you ever thought of running a conference?” And really, related to group piano and piano pedagogy, and what was behind it all, we would come to a conference. We were new in our jobs or trying to figure out jobs, and we would all get together over lunch and dinner, and we were just talking about, “well, how are you doing this? How are you doing that?” We were sharing ideas on group teaching and on teaching piano pedagogy, and we said, “We’re spending all our time at a conference talking about this. Why don’t we just run a conference on it?” And then, she and I thought about who else to pull together and who would work well on it. We got a group of four, and that started it all. It was held at CCM for a number of years. 

And then I do have to credit, it was a ton of work running a conference, [for] the four of us, [and] putting on this conference every two years. And finally, MTNA got involved. And I’m very aware, had MTNA not gotten involved—particularly Brian Shepard, I worked so closely with him over the years, he’s an amazing organizer—had we not had that connection with MTNA, I don’t think we could have survived. The workload of it, we couldn’t have kept it going. But obviously, the idea [that we] worked on was we would just get together and brainstorm. You know, just brainstorm, who should we bring in? And we felt pretty free to just be crazy about, and not feel like we had to do the same old, same old. And then we would bring in really interesting speakers. So, yeah, that’s been a really fun thing to be involved with.

PP: What did you learn from that experience?

BF: Okay, this is one thing I tell my doctoral students. We had a group of four working together, generating ideas. I think it’s really [about paying] attention. You’ve got to work with people who don’t necessarily all have the same strengths, but who get along. You have to get along. But you do not all want to have the same strengths. You want to have various strengths, because that is what’s going to make the thing work on it. And I’ve noticed, I love working with people and groups, and every partnership I’ve ever had, the reason it’s worked is because we get along really well, but the strengths aren’t necessarily matched, and someone has a strength that someone else does not, and that makes it go.

PP: Yeah, that’s so important, and I’m so glad you brought that up, because again, when you look at the finished product, and you know, you see whether it’s a performance, a collaborative performance, or a collaborative venture, like, you know, GP3, or anything, if you’ve done your job well, it looks effortless. But we all know the work that went into it and learning to navigate different personalities and how we work together and build on one another’s strengths and weaknesses, I think must be important.

BF: Yeah, no. I think that’s a really key thing to making [and] helping things work.

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

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Engaging the Brain: Practice Tips from an Interview with Spencer Myer
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Barbara Fast, Exploring Passion, Pedagogy, and the Art of Teaching Piano | S2 E19

Written By Piano Inspires

In this episode of The Piano Inspires Podcast, host Pamela Pike is joined by Dr. Barbara Fast, who shares her journey from a musically rich childhood to becoming a leader in piano pedagogy. She reflects on the experiences that shaped her teaching philosophy, the importance of mentorship, and how educators can inspire students through engaging and meaningful lessons. She also discusses her role in developing group piano programs and the impact of collaboration in the field. Join us for an insightful conversation filled with wisdom, stories, and a passion for music education.

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Publications Launch Party: Weaving Sounds: Elementary Piano Pieces by Native and Indigenous Composers

Written By Piano Inspires
Webinar with Connor Chee and Renata Yazzie

Weaving Sounds is a collection of beginner piano repertoire written by the vibrant and diverse voices of Native and Indigenous composers from the Diné, Mohawk, Anishinaabe, Cree, Blackfoot, Jicarilla Apache, Choctaw, and Mohican communities. Each piece is a unique expression of the composers’ cultural roots and personal artistry, offering a tapestry of sounds that are both accessible to beginners and deeply meaningful. The pieces are presented in order of progressive difficulty and include information about the composers and their communities.

Celebrate the launch of this engaging and important publication with composers/editors Connor Chee and Renata Yazzie. Hear firsthand about this book’s creative and collaborative process, and get exclusive sneak peaks of the score. Time for Q&A is also included.

Air date: January 15, 2025

The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 Innovation Summit: Designing the Future of Piano Education

Written By Andrea Mcalister

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 1, 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.

The Piano Conference keynote presentation.

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.

Gathering for Collaborative Change

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.

At the heart of the NCKP Summit is the opportunity for participants to come together to share insights, experiences, and ideas. The day will begin with a keynote presentation by pianist, educator, and composer Randy Faber who will set the tone for the activities and discussions that follow. Participants will then engage in interactive workshops and open dialogue designed to promote reflection, encourage the exchange of perspectives, and define the piano educator of the twenty-first century. By drawing on the diverse expertise within the group, the Summit aims to generate actionable strategies that reflect the collective wisdom of the piano education community.

Bradley Sowash and a pianist perform together during The Piano Conference.
Attendees review the schedule.

Generating Bold Ideas for Actionable Change

A central focus of the NCKP Summit is the development of transformative ideas that can lead to meaningful, innovative change in piano education. Participants will engage in exercises designed to encourage expansive thinking and creative problem-solving, with a clear emphasis on translating ideas into action.

Through activities such as brainstorming sessions and collaborative vision-building, attendees will be challenged to identify bold goals for the future of piano teaching and learning. By the end of the day, attendees will leave with an inspired outlook and a roadmap for implementing innovative practices in their own teaching and professional communities.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone who is passionate about the future of piano education is invited to attend! The Summit is designed to benefit a wide range of professionals in the field of piano education, including university faculty, independent studio teachers, and those in the early stages of their careers. By bringing together a diverse range of perspectives, we can create a vision that reflects the varied experiences and needs of the entire community.

Conference attendees discover innovative ideas during a group piano workshop.
Artina McCain presents at The Piano Conference.
Attendees discuss ideas in small groups.

Registering for the Summit

The Summit is held on the first day of NCKP 2025, and participation is included in your full NCKP registration. To ensure the success of this interactive event, an accurate participant list is essential. Please indicate your participation in the Summit on the NCKP registration form and rank your preferred cohorts: Higher Education, Teaching Practices, or New Professionals. If you have already registered for the full conference but have not confirmed your Summit attendance, please visit this link to update your registration—no additional fees apply. Alternatively, you may register for the Summit only at the single-day rate of $199. Additionally, we ask that you complete our Pre-Summit Survey.

Attending the Summit

We encourage you to arrive at the conference hotel on Tuesday, July 22nd. On-site check-in will begin at 8:00 am on Wednesday, July 23rd, and the Summit will start promptly at 9:00 am. To ensure every participant gains the full value of the event, it is essential to be present for the entire day’s activities. The Summit will conclude at 5:00 pm.

Shaping the Future of Piano Education

The NCKP Summit represents more than an academic gathering; it is a collaborative effort to define the principles and practices that will guide piano education in the years to come. Participants will leave with a renewed sense of purpose, equipped with ideas and tools to implement meaningful change in their own communities.

As the field of piano education continues to evolve, the NCKP Summit is essential for fostering dialogue, innovation, and collective action. This inaugural meeting marks the beginning of an ongoing conversation about the role of educators and their collective responsibility to meet the evolving challenges of the future. By coming together, we can shape a vision for piano education that addresses both current needs and anticipates the demands of tomorrow’s musical landscape.

Registration is now open. To secure your place and learn more about the program, click here.

More questions? Visit our Summit FAQs page. 

We are pleased to offer multiple opportunities for participation in The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025! The deadline to submit is Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. We seek programming in a variety of formats and are currently accepting submissions of collegiate projects, e-posters, performances, and teaching demonstrations.

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Teaching Demonstration (NCKP Rebroadcast)
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E-Posters: Why You Should Submit and Tips for Success

Written By Robin Heinsen

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 provides helpful insights based on her experience as an NCKP poster presenter. We invite you to submit e-posters, teaching demonstrations, performance videos, and Collegiate Connections projects to our Call for Participation for The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 by Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM PDT. 

How did you decide on your proposal topic?

Our pathway to The Piano Conference: NCKP is probably different from most other presenters because we are not pianists—we are music education professors who became curious about how school music teachers use the piano in their classrooms and wondered whether there were relationships between how teachers learned to play the piano and how they use it in their teaching. We had previously shared our findings in music education circles, and subsequently sought out this conference as an opportunity to share with the piano pedagogy community. We all have a stake in what our students learn and retain from university class piano.

What would be your top three tips on writing a successful e-poster proposal?

First, ask a great question! What are you curious about, what do you wonder about, and how can you design a project that can help answer that question? 

Once you’ve done that, practice condensing your research question, potential findings, and implications into only a few sentences to ensure your own thinking is clear about what you want to propose and why it matters. 

Then, once you start writing, make sure a reader can extract that information from your proposal so the significance of your work stays prominent instead of getting buried. This may be best accomplished by asking someone else to read your proposal and then tell you about the project they think you are describing. 

What was it like using the Kubify platform?

From what we remember, it was a pretty intuitive interface. It was easy to navigate, customize, and upload materials into the platform, and it integrated well with the conference page. We had never used it before this event, but we found it to be straightforward with little to no learning curve.

What advice would you give to someone building their e-poster? Any tips, tricks, or recommendations for effectively communicating their research through the software?

We approached our e-poster as if it was a slide deck (such as in PowerPoint or Keynote) and each square was a “slide” that contributed one piece of information. We titled the squares with short questions so that the reader knew what to look for as they clicked on each one. We frequently utilized charts and graphs to make it easier to visualize the data and answer the title questions, and avoided extensive prose or paragraphs of text when possible. Our introduction and conclusion were larger boxes that bookended the smaller content slides.

Why would you recommend presenting an e-poster at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025?

As non-pianists, we were hesitant to enter this space and initiate these conversations, but we felt extremely welcomed and enjoyed our time at the conference. We had many great conversations with participants who were interested to learn more about our findings and eager to share ideas and collaborate. It was an important reminder that all of our work can benefit from interdisciplinary dialogue.

We are pleased to offer multiple opportunities for participation in The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025! The deadline to submit is Monday, March 31, 2025, at 11:59 PM Pacific. We seek programming in a variety of formats and are currently accepting submissions of Collegiate Connections projects, e-posters, performances, and teaching demonstrations.

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Teaching Demonstration (NCKP Rebroadcast)
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Celebrating Black History Month

Written By Piano Inspires, Artina McCain

From February 1-28, we celebrate Black History Month, a time to honor and reflect upon the remarkable music and contributions of Black people. In this Discovery Page post, we have curated a collection of Piano Inspires resources to help everyone discover something new. From our international webinar series, to articles in Piano Magazine and Piano Inspires Kids, to our online course, Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy: 20 Pieces by Black Composers to Use in Your Studio Now, there is so much to discover! We hope these resources will provide useful tips and ideas to help you incorporate music by Black composers into your recital programs, lesson plans, and more.

Courses:

Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy: 20 Pieces by Black Composers to Use in Your Studio Now is a fully online course exploring classical piano music by Black composers from elementary to early advanced levels. This course is designed to help remedy the lack of inclusion of piano music by Black composers in the standard teaching repertoire, and the music heard on the public concert stage.

Unsung Heroes in Piano Pedagogy: 20 Pieces by Black Composers to Use in Your Studio Now

Inspiring Artistry Video Series:

Pinto: Run! Run! from Memories of Childhood
Capers: Portraits in Jazz: No. 3 “Sweet Mister Jelly Roll” and No. 7 “Billie’s Song”
White: Images, Thirteen Expressions for Intermediate Piano

From the Artist Bench Series:

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson: Scherzo and Toccata
The Piano Music of George Walker
Price: Piano Sonata in E Minor
Bonds: Troubled Water
Adams: Etude No. 1 in G Minor, from Twenty-Six Etudes for Solo Piano
Singleton: Mutations, Cinque, In My Own Skin
William Chapman Nyaho performs at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference
Artina McCain presents at NCKP 2023: The Piano Conference.
Pianists Asia Passmore and Kasey Stokes.

Magazine Article: Awadagin Pratt: Pianist, Conductor, Music Education Advocate by Artina McCain

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing concert pianist, conductor, and professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Awadagin Pratt. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Awadagin Pratt has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Johns Hopkins, an honorary doctorate from Illinois Wesleyan University, and an Avery Fisher Grant. In November 2009, Pratt was one of four artists selected to perform at a music event at the White House that included student workshops hosted by the First Lady, Michelle Obama. He also performed in concert for guests including President Obama. He has played numerous recitals throughout the United States and internationally, including four tours of Japan. We had a great chat about his historic career, the competition his foundation will sponsor, and—BBQ!

Artina McCain

Tell me about your early exposure to music.

Awadagin Pratt

My father listened to classical music in our home. He was a nuclear physicist, but he loved music and actually played the organ as a child. He would often record from the radio to the old reel-to-reel tape machines. It was the only music in the house, and I liked it. My parents started me with piano lessons when I was six, but when we moved to Brazil for a year, I stopped taking lessons. I restarted piano lessons when I was eight and then began taking violin lessons when I was nine.

Read more of Artina McCain’s interview with Awadagin Pratt by clicking here.

Awadagin Pratt: Pianist, Conductor, Music Education Advocate

Teacher Education Webinar Series:

Music by Black Composers from Outside the USA
Piano Music by Black Composers: Music for all Skill Levels
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Piano Inspires Podcast: Rochelle Sennet

Written By Rochelle Sennet, Sara Ernst

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

Rochelle Sennet

Sara Ernst: I’m getting the sense that you have a laser vision towards something, and if you put your mind on it, it’s going to happen. 

Rochelle Sennet: That’s it. [laugh] Yeah, I will own that. Yes. I was that kid. I’m still that adult. 

SE: Yeah, no, I love that. Now my question is, if you’ve now had a student like that? How has that experience been for you when you see that in a student?

RS: It’s the coolest thing because I can at least be able to explore this, try this, and try this. And this is why, if a student immediately [wants] to specialize in only one composer—and I understand where that is and try this, you don’t want to stifle that—but then that’s where I like to share my story, yeah, to say you never know. And this is the part where you learn everything. And even if you come away from saying you’ll never, ever play Mozart, or ever, ever play J.S. Bach, ever again, you could at least be able to teach your own students and say, “Hey, maybe it doesn’t connect with me, but at least be able to play it, at least keep the options open.” 

So yes, it’s actually always fun when I get students that are just very energetic or just have a lot of focus. But I also recognize that I don’t get a lot of students that [say] “this is what I definitely want to do.” And of course, we all started with one thing, and then come out [of] college with something different. A lot of us do, yeah. It’s always a hard line to, I mean, [a] fine line to walk, because you don’t want to stifle a student’s creative energy just when you figure out what makes them tick. So it’s always a little different with every student. 

But I also, what I love about [it] is the problem solving [part] myself. Yeah, you figure out, just even with something technical, or just figuring out, what is it that makes this student tick with the composer that they are connecting with, and why [by] just listening to them. And then, if they like this, maybe they might like this or this. And so I’m just problem solving. You want the students to be able to play pieces that they love. And they enjoy. That’s why we do music in the first place. And so I never want to be that teacher to stifle that energy. And also, I want to use that time that I have with the students, to also try this and to encourage them to stay open as well.

SE: So it sounds like you might be a “yes” teacher, in the sense, if your student brings you an idea, you’d say, “Yes, let’s.”

RS: Depends. It’s a yes, no.

SE: [Laugh] So you are a “yes–no” teacher. 

RS: In fact, someone’s students, actually, they’ve heard me say this. Well, they asked me a question: “Well, should I do it this way?” “Yes, no.” I’ll say why there’s a yes, and then why there’s a no.

SE: Oh, I love this. Can you give an example of that?

RS: So a student might ask, “Well, do you want me to play it that way?” “Yes, no. No, because it’s not what I [want]. [You] are going to be telling the story. So let me explain why this is important.” You give the background, and so then, “Let me show you this way and why this way doesn’t work.” Whether something technical, try it this way, you see what if you’re trying to think about being more proficient getting from key A to key B, if you’re doing extra movements, that’s not efficient. So just something like that is why there’s the “yes,” and here’s why there’s the “no,” and you explain. So my students also know that I want them to be successful. And sometimes that can be some conversations that will also have them think about things. But [being a] “yes” teacher, my students will probably say, I am far from that.

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

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Announcing the Keynote Speakers, Jazz Artists, PEDx Speakers, and Concert Artists of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025
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Rochelle Sennet, Championing Diversity and Inclusion in Piano Education | S2 E18

Written By Piano Inspires

In this episode, Dr. Rochelle Sennet shares her journey as a pianist, educator, and advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music. She reflects on the importance of representation in piano education, her discovery of Black composers like George Walker, and how she fosters inclusivity in her teaching. Join us for an inspiring conversation on breaking barriers, expanding repertoire, and ensuring all students feel seen and valued in the piano world.

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Announcing the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award Winners

Written By Piano Inspires

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award. All are welcome to join us at The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 to celebrate these extraordinary individuals.

Gary Ingle
Susanna Garcia
Craig Sale
William Chapman Nyaho
Barbara Fast

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 across the country and internationally.

“We are honored to celebrate the outstanding contributions of our five Lifetime Achievement Award recipients: Barbara, Craig, Gary, Nyaho, and Susie. Each individual continues to have a profound impact on our professional field and community. In addition to their leadership roles, their dedicated service to The Frances Clark Center and our shared mission is long-standing and invaluable.” said Jennifer Snow, CEO and Executive Director 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 Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Click here to reserve Gala tickets.

The Frances Clark Center Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor and is presented on behalf of The Frances Clark Center to individuals who have made substantial and enduring contributions to the field of piano pedagogy and to the work of the Center.

Do you have research you want to share with the piano pedagogy community? The last chance to submit your teaching video, performance, e-poster, or Collegiate Connections project is Monday, March 31, 2025. Learn more at: https://pianoinspires.com/nckp-the-piano-conference/.

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Teaching Demonstration (NCKP Rebroadcast)
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Piano Inspires Podcast: Scott McBride Smith

Written By Scott McBride Smith, Craig Sale

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

Scott McBride Smith

Craig Sale: What impact do you see music having on our world now?

Scott McBride Smith: Yeah, that’s a good one, isn’t it? Well, there’s something magical about the combinations of sounds, isn’t it? There’s something special about being around beauty that just elevates your life. The worst piano student, at least, is there to experience beauty. You’re not around violence, you’re not around suffering. You and I, because we’re professionals, spend our lives around people that actually want to do it. That’s really kind of a gift. 

So why doesn’t the rest of the world see that? I don’t know. That’s a good question. Do you have an answer? I just don’t know why they don’t value it. It seems so valuable to me. So you know, as a department chair at KU, I have to understand the decisions these days and universities are made for financial reasons.

CS: Right.

SMS: Again, I’m not criticizing because if I were provost of the University, I would have to too because “who’s going to pay?” So you have to make financial decisions. But I sometimes wonder, don’t they see how good this is for the school, and how much the marching band means? I wouldn’t say they don’t see it, but I don’t think it says value to some other things with higher dollar sign numbers on it.

CS: That’s how they’re trained to look at it, is the dollar sign rather than the impact on those kids’ lives.

SMS: So I have to be a big boy and understand that and make sure that I’m doing my best to justify what we do on [a] financial basis, which isn’t really my belief as [to] what the importance of it is. But anyway, since that’s the way the world works, I have to live in the world the way it is, not the way I wish it were.

CS: Also, I think [on] music in the world, I find it so accessible for people to get music and experience it passively. 

SMS: Yeah. That’s right, and that’s a good thing and a bad thing. There’s nobody in the whole world that doesn’t have music in their life in some way. But maybe it’s a little too easy to just push a button. We’ve lost that belief in participation. We expect it to be delivered to us. 

CS: Active music-making is what we might be concerned about, I think. Do you think music impacts the future of our world? 

SMS: Yes. I’m not sure we’re going to win, though. [Laugh]

CS: [Laugh] But it could. Yeah, it could shape it.

SMS: Anyway, nobody’s asking a pair of piano teachers what we’re doing. We just got to keep doing what we can do. No one’s asking [for] our opinion.

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

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What Do You Do To Make the Recital a Happy and Successful Experience?
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Our Experiences Writing for Piano Magazine

Written By Sarah Jenkins, Sarah Leonard

Every year, Piano Magazine offers students the opportunity to showcase their research and writing through the Collegiate Writing Contest. We are pleased to present the testimonies of two recent winners of this competition, in hopes that it will inspire other collegiate students to submit their manuscripts for a chance to be featured in Piano Magazine. The grand prize winner receives publication in an issue of Piano Magazine, and secondary prize winners receive publication on PianoInspires.com. This year, the contest runs until May 1, 2025. Learn more and submit an article here!

Sarah Jenkins, Winner of the 2020 Competition

Norwegian Folk Songs: Making Rhythmic Complexities Easy and Enjoyable, Autumn 2020

The date is April 27, 2020. I just turned in the final draft of my master’s thesis, and I am ready to call the semester over. It had been over a month since I left my apartment (and my cat) due to the pandemic. Then I received an email from my advisor along the lines of, “You should write an article and submit it for the Collegiate Writing Competition through Piano Magazine.” I’m sorry–what? The deadline was May 1, 2020. How was I supposed to write an article worthy of submission that close to the deadline while my brain (and soul) was recovering from finishing my master’s degree online? Well, if your advisor recommends that you do something, you do it. They know best…right?

So, I did it. I locked myself in my office and got to work. I might have become a little over zealous in the research stages of my thesis, so I certainly had plenty of content. I finally settled on a Norwegian folk song by Agathe Backer-Grøndahl. The hard part was trying to narrow the scope of my article. Why do other pianists and teachers need to know about this piece? What does it offer to students?

Let’s just say the first draft was definitely a rough draft. It was essentially a music theory paper. After some feedback from my advisor and one of my peers, I scratched the entire thing and started over. What made this piece special? Why did I choose it? Aha! The rhythms. I realized that Grøndahl used strong hand shapes and positions to allow students to focus on rhythmic complexities. Surprisingly, this version was the easiest to write. I found a topic interesting to me and beneficial to my students. That’s what this is about, right?

Throughout my adult life I have had conflicting feelings regarding generic inspirational quotes (i.e. “You’ll never know until you try…”). I always craved real and specific advice. Yes, I’ll never know until I try, but what do I gain from trying? What do I gain from failing? Why should I spend time and energy on something that might not benefit me? In this case, why should I put myself through the stress of writing (and rewriting) an article when all I want is my degree and a nap? The truth is simple: I did not know what I did not know until I tried. Read that again. I did not know what I did not know…until I tried. I learned where the deficits in my writing and my ability to talk about music were. I learned that I can write quickly when needed (and pushed). I learned that sometimes the greatest advice I can be given is to just try because I will discover the “why” myself.

So, my advice is just do it. Write an article and submit it. You’ll never know what you don’t know until you try. 

Sarah Leonard, Winner of the 2022 Competition

Dealing With Double Notes: Practical Solutions for Small-Handed Pianists, Autumn 2021

My master’s research centered around the underrepresented majority of pianists; those whose hands are considered small by late-Romantic standards. I was highly motivated to share what I had learned with the outside world, especially given how significantly it had helped me with my own teaching and playing, but I didn’t have a good way to do so outside of my school, LSU. Dr. Pamela Pike strongly recommended I take a portion of my research and turn it into an article for the Collegiate Writing Contest at Piano Magazine. Because I had spent several months writing about small-handed-piano technique, in both academic and lecture form, it was easy for me to quickly draft a 1,000-1,500 word essay.

I’m extremely thankful for my colleagues at LSU, who had heard me talk about my research throughout my entire project. Because they understood my thoughts and goals, they were able to help me revise my draft in a way that was approachable and fit the style of a Piano Magazine article. I might not have considered writing for a magazine if I hadn’t had that kind of support.

Submitting the article was a little scary because I had never done something like that before. However, I felt I had something to add to the conversation surrounding small hands, and I knew it would add authority to my CV and resumé for future job applications. Also, why not submit an article? I had done months of work and research. The worst thing that could’ve happened was that I’d have to try again in the future.

When I received the email that I had won the competition, it was so affirming! As a young person, I had never been recognized outside of my immediate circle of professors and colleagues. It gave me the confidence to present at the fall LMTA (Louisiana Music Teachers Association) conference, something else I had never done before. I look forward to continuing my academic journey, alongside my teaching career.

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The Frances Clark Center Unveils Historic Matching Gift Campaign

Written By Piano Inspires

Double Your Impact on the Future of Piano Education

PRESS RELEASE: 30 JANUARY 2025

For Immediate Release

Contact: Heather Smith, Director of Development and Advancement

hsmith@francesclarkcenter.org

Kingston, NJ – January 30, 2025

The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy proudly announces a historic opportunity to advance the future of piano education. An anonymous donor has pledged a $100,000 matching gift to benefit the Piano Inspires Legacy Circle and The Frances Clark Center Endowment. This remarkable commitment will match every dollar contributed during the campaign, doubling the impact of each donation and advancing the Center’s mission to inspire and support piano teachers and students worldwide.

“We are deeply honored to receive this transformative gift from one of our generous donors,” said Dr. Jennifer Snow, President and CEO. “The opportunity to launch a matching gift campaign around the newly created Piano Inspires Legacy Circle motivates all of us to focus on the value and importance of a sustainable future. The impact of this powerful gift is far reaching and will allow us to more fully realize our mission in support of our dedicated piano education community.”

Amplifying Support for a Growing Mission

This matching campaign arrives at a pivotal time as The Frances Clark Center continues to expand its reach and influence. Contributions will directly support initiatives that inspire and empower educators and students, strengthening the Center’s financial foundation and expanding its ability to create meaningful, lasting change in piano education.

Donor support will uphold the Center’s core values of accessibility, innovation, and excellence while advancing a wide range of initiatives, including The Piano Conference: NCKP, The New School for Music Study, Marvin Blickenstaff Institute for Teaching Excellence, Teacher Education programs, Piano Education Press, and publications such as Piano Magazine, Piano Inspires Kids, and Journal of Piano Research. These resources continue to inspire and equip piano educators and students worldwide, making piano education accessible and impactful for future generations.

Your Gift Doubled: A Meaningful Opportunity

Every dollar contributed during this campaign will be matched, up to $100,000, effectively doubling the impact of each gift. Donors may choose to make a one-time donation, pledge multi-year support, or join the Piano Inspires Legacy Circle. Each contribution directly supports the Center’s ability to sustain and grow its programs, benefiting students, teachers, and communities around the world.

“Endowments are markers of mature, responsible, and sustainable organizations because they provide a stream of revenue in perpetuity,” said Dr. Samuel S. Holland, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. “Donors can take pride in knowing their gifts will have a profound and lasting impact on the future of piano education. As we continue to innovate and expand, the support of our community is more critical than ever. Together, we can secure the future of piano education and honor Frances Clark’s enduring legacy.”

Act Now: Your Legacy Starts Here

The matching campaign runs through August 31, 2025. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact and contribute to the future of piano education. To make your gift or learn more, visit Piano Inspires Legacy Circle or contact Heather Smith, Director of Development and Advancement, at hsmith@francesclarkcenter.org.

The Frances Clark Center Announces the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

Written By Piano Inspires

PRESS RELEASE: 3 FEBRUARY 2025

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 across the country and internationally.

“We are honored to celebrate the outstanding contributions of our five Lifetime Achievement Award recipients: Barbara, Craig, Gary, Nyaho, and Susie. Each individual continues to have a profound impact on our professional field and community. In addition to their leadership roles, their dedicated service to The Frances Clark Center and our shared mission is long-standing and invaluable.” said Jennifer Snow, CEO and Executive Director 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 Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Click here to reserve Gala tickets.

The Frances Clark Center Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest honor and is presented on behalf of The Frances Clark Center to individuals who have made substantial and enduring contributions to the field of piano pedagogy and to the work of the Center.

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