Booth: 106
Promo Code: TBD
Get your first month of Vibrant Music Teaching membership for half price! Click here before August 1st to register.
Giveaway: TBD
Booth Schedule:
Meet and Treat! Come by the Vibrant Music booth at lunchtime on the first day for some free treats and meet like-minded, creative teachers.
Showcase Schedule:
Booth: 107
Promo Code: NCKP15
Get 15% off anything in the Let’s Play Music ‘Shop’ until July 28, 2025. Orders will be shipped. Visit our booth for the prize drawing on July 26th at 1:00pm.
Giveaway: Enter to win a large magnet board and magnet set. Perfect for tactile hands on learning. Create chords, inversions, read notes, make rhythms and take dictation on this dry erase, double-sided, easy to use magnet board. Giving it away at our booth on July 26th at 1:00pm.
Booth Schedule:
July 23 at 11:00am showing you our toddler program for a caregiver and child ages 0-4.
July 24 at 11:00am learn how we take advantage of the music learning window for children ages 4-6.
July 25 at 11:00am see how we teach group lessons to ages 8-12. We have the secret to successful group piano lessons.
Showcase Schedule:
Booth: 410
Promo Code: TBD
TBD.
Giveaway: TBD.
Booth Schedule:
TBD.
Booths: 301 & 302
Promo Code: TBD
TBD.
Giveaway: Register to win prizes at our booth!
Booth Schedule: Join us at the Keys to Imagination booth to play music theory games with your fellow teachers and snag incredible prizes! Don’t miss out on exploring games like Rhythm Riot, Spelling Bee, Harmonic Hike, Note Wordy, and more—perfect for helping your students master theory skills in the most exciting and effective way possible! Don’t miss this!
Thursday, July 24
12:45 – Note Wordy
1:00 – Rhythm Riot – Eighth time
5:00 – Composer Chaos
Friday, July 25
12:15 – Spelling Bee
12:30 – Rhythm Riot 3
12:45 – Harmonic Hike Demo
Saturday, July 26
10:00 – Spelling Bee
10:15 – Legato Lake and Symbol Shark
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Committees of The Piano Conference: NCKP 2025 work to research, compile, or otherwise address issues of ongoing significance to our participants and the piano teaching public in meaningful and substantive ways. As we eagerly anticipate NCKP 2025, we asked our committee chairs to give us a sneak peek into their respective tracks. Keep reading to see what you can expect from the Collaborative Performance and Research Conference 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.
By Alexandra Nguyen, Chair
Sunday, June 8, 2pm-3pm
Friday, July 25, 10am-12pm
The mission of the collaborative performance committee is to promote and support collaborative music making at every level. By its very nature, the field that is called collaborative piano encompasses a wide range of activities: performing with others, teaching, coaching, working as rehearsal pianists… the list is diverse, providing an endless list of potential topics for conference sessions.
At The Piano Conference: NCKP 2023, the collaborative performance committee hosted a town hall where questions and topics for discussion were collected from the attendees. The session was energizing, interactive, and informative, providing us with first-hand insight into the concerns and issues faced by pianists working in a broad cross-section of settings. This collected information served as the impetus for the design of this year’s online and in-person collaborative performance sessions.
The Collaborative Performance Track will support the dual facets of being a musician: the artistic soul seeking inspiration and the working professional dealing with pragmatic and financial mechanics, as well as to build and nurture a sense of community. Despite the fact that collaborative pianists are constantly working with others, it is not unusual for us to feel solitary – that those we interact with may not have a clear understanding of our work nor be a knowledgeable resource. To this end, a town hall will be held to offer a space for open discourse and exchange.
This track will also address logistic and financial management for collaborative pianists. What constitutes a reasonable workload for a staff pianist? How should salaries, honoraria, and fees be set? How can one establish healthy working expectations and boundaries? In reaction to this, the collaborative performance committee will host Behind the Curtain: Labor Relations for the Collaborative Pianist, with the goal of providing concrete guidelines for the working collaborative pianist, and perhaps for the industry at large.
A highlight of this year’s collaborative sessions is the online forum Iconic Conversations: Insights from Leaders in Collaborative Piano will bring together artist-pedagogues Jean Barr, Anne Epperson, Margo Garrett, Warren Jones, and Martin Katz for a stimulating discussion, offering a rare opportunity to gain insights into the artistry, challenges, and evolving role of collaborative pianists from the perspective of these incredible leaders in the field. It is an event not to be missed!
We hope that all who attend the collaborative performance track sessions will leave with a renewed sense of inspiration, intention, and purpose.
By Alejandro Cremaschi, Chair
Sunday, June 8, 2-3:30pm
Thursday, July 24, 10:30am-12:30pm
As teachers, students and musicians we often encounter situations that make us wonder about questions such as the root causes of problems we experience, the most effective solutions to those problems, or the effects of our decisions, actions and strategies on our performance and our teaching. At times, we find answers by reading the research others have conducted to answer similar questions. Other times, these questions prompt us to become researchers ourselves, to look closely and systematically at these phenomena. The Research Track presentations and poster sessions will provide attendees with both: opportunities to learn about exciting research projects in a diverse range of areas and the tools to get started and to further develop research skills.
The online June event will feature fascinating studies on how we read music, use peer teaching in group classes, and use movement to play the piano. Sumi Kwon and Su-Young Bae will discuss their findings about eye movements during the perusal time prior to sight-reading, taking into account the musical structure of the piece being read, and sight-reading ability of the participants. Jinnan Liu will share the results of a quantitative study in group piano teaching. She will explore the ideal approaches for using reciprocal peer teaching in the learning of repertoire, sight-reading, harmonization, and transposition. Paloma Monteiro will then present on her study that used Motion Capture and MIDI technology to analyze the impact of diversifying repetition in practice on synchronization between the pianist’s hands.
The in-person track will open with with presenters Sarah Jenkins, Curtis Pavey, Helena Hyesoo Kim and Carla Salas-Ruiz discussing the findings of project that investigated the evolving definitions of success among American music professionals without full-time academic positions, and essential skill sets for new graduates and recommended curricular modifications. Then, researcher Todd Van Kekerix will discuss how music is making an impact in addressing the elevated levels of stress among healthcare workers, nurses, nursing students, and long-term care workers. His session will share research on the impact of group keyboard music-making sessions on the changes in mood states, blood pressure, and burnout.
The second hour of the in-person track starts with a presentation on pianistic movement and how it communicates artistry. Researcher Carla Cash will focus on recent research from an ongoing collaboration with her university’s biomechanical engineering department using a Motion Capture System to examine the mechanics of piano technique. She will present data tracking the body motions of a professional pianist with over 40 years of playing experience and a college undergraduate pianist with 15 years of experience, demonstrating differences between the players’ use of their upper torsos in performance. Following this, Stephanie Archer will discuss the findings of a research project that polled piano teachers about the order of introduction of technical skills at the beginning level, and their beliefs about the relationship between beginner-level technique instruction and injury prevention.
We hope that you will join us for these fascinating and informative sessions. They will likely inspire and empower you to seek answers, apply research in your own teaching, and to start your own research inquiries.
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.
In this episode of The Piano Inspires Podcast, Craig Sale is joined by Samantha Coates who shares her journey from traditional piano lessons to becoming an innovative educator, author, and advocate for making music learning more engaging. She discusses the power of humor in teaching, the importance of creativity in piano education, and how her Blitz Books series transformed music theory learning. Samantha also reflects on the role of community, professional development, and making music accessible for all.
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We would like to thank Susanna Garcia for this article about composer Thomas H. Kerr. To learn more and purchase Thomas H. Kerr Jr.’s Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel?: Concert Scherzo for Two Pianos, Four Hands, click here.To read the full article, click here.
Thomas Henderson Kerr Jr. (January 3, 1915–August 26, 1988) was an American classical pianist, organist, teacher, and composer. His works were performed by some of the leading African American artists of his era and his spiritual arrangements were performed and recorded by Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman.
Yet, the extent of his influence is seldom acknowledged. Despite composing over 120 works for piano, organ, voice, chorus, and other ensembles, none were published during his lifetime. His manuscripts, preserved at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,1 reflect a largely forgotten legacy. Fortunately, recent publications and recordings have renewed interest in his music.
In 2022, I explored Kerr’s archives at the Schomburg Center, uncovering manuscripts, correspondence, recital programs, and a master catalog of works. This article highlights Kerr’s life and contributions to piano literature.
Thomas H. Kerr Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He began his musical journey early, learning piano and teaching himself the organ. By fourteen, he was playing at Metropolitan United Methodist Church3 and local nightclubs, developing strong improvisational skills.
At Frederick Douglass High School, he studied with W. Llewellyn Wilson, who also taught musicians like Eubie Blake and Cab Calloway. Denied admission to the Peabody Institute due to racial barriers, Kerr attended Howard University for a year before transferring to the Eastman School of Music, earning three degrees and graduating summa cum laude. At Eastman, he studied piano with Cécile Genhart (1898–1983).
In 1943, Kerr became professor and chair of the piano department at Howard University, retiring in 1976. He performed at venues like the Phillips Collection and as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra.
Notably, he was the first African American to give a recital at the National Gallery of Art.4 He also served as organist at Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ for over thirty-five years.
Kerr raised two children, Judith Elaine Kerr and Thomas Henderson Kerr III, with his first wife, Norma McAllister Kerr (1922–1991). His second wife, Hortense Reid Kerr (1926–2002), was a piano professor at Howard University and actively promoted his music and legacy.5
Kerr died on August 26, 1988, following an automobile accident and is buried near Howard University in Washington, D.C.
To me music first and foremost and forever, is a language to speak directly to the hearts of the listeners.
– Thomas Henderson Kerr Jr.6
Kerr was a master of contemporary musical styles, crafting a distinctive voice that integrated twentieth-century modernist techniques with the rich traditions of African American spirituals, blues, and jazz. Kerr describes his own musical style as “conservative,” rejecting serialism and atonality.7
Jane Fitz-Fitzharris, writing about his organ and piano works states:
The musical language of Thomas Kerr, Jr. uniquely reflected the African-American experience. His forms and styles were classically European but at the same time he incorporated elements of African music as well as spirituals and American jazz. . .Kerr’s output shows pluralistic influences. For example, his use of the ostinato technique reflects the rhythmic richness/complexity of African music; his use of formal structures such as theme and variations reflect European style; and his inclusion of the spiritual was African-American.8
Kerr’s catalogue lists nine solo piano works, five for two pianos, three for piano four-hands, various hymn settings, and simplified arrangements composed between 1937 and 1973. These are listed at the end of this article.
Kerr composed for himself and for prominent pianists in his community, reflecting the high regard in which he was held by his peers. These compositions are marked by artistic sophistication and technical complexity, tailored to the performers’ high caliber.
Kerr also maintained a private studio, composing works tailored to his students’ needs and reflecting his attentiveness to their unique skills. His most ambitious pedagogical work was Dancétudes: 7 Vignettes of Dolls and Pets, written for his daughter, Judith (Judy) Kerr.
Until 2024, none of his piano compositions had been published. This discussion focuses on the three piano works that are now accessible due to their recent publication.
We hope you enjoyed this excerpt from Susanna Garcia’s article, “The Distinctive Voice of Thomas H. Kerr.” You can read the entire article by clicking here.
1 Thomas Henderson Kerr Jr. Papers (Sc MG 763). Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division of the New York Public Library. archives.nypl.org/scm/23943#overview
2 A Catalogue of the Compositions and Arrangements of Thomas Henderson Kerr, Jr. (1915–1988), complied by Constance Tibbs Hobson and Cynthia A. Reid, 2005. Kerr Papers, Box 5, Folder 1.
3 “Thomas H. Kerr Jr Dies, Howard Music Professor” The Baltimore Sun. August 30, 1988.
4 “At 90, Kerr has ‘been somebody’ a long time” The Baltimore Sun. May 20, 1978.
5 Hortense Reid Kerr’s papers are located at the Kerr Papers, Box 14.
6 Thomas H. Kerr Jr., interview by Sharon Barron, April 24, 1980, transcript, 4–5. Kerr Papers, Box 1, Folder 1
7 Kerr, Interview by Barron, 4.
8 Kane Fitz-Fitzharris. “Compositional Techniques in Thomas Kerr, Jr.’s ‘Anguished American Easter, 1968’ and Their Application to the Theme of African-American Theology.” (DMA diss., Louisiana State University, 2006.) 6.
9 William Duncan Allen letter to Thomas H. Kerr Jr., February 8, 1982. Kerr Papers, Box 1, Folder 4.
MORE ON THOMAS H KERR
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!
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!
MORE ON MARIO AJERO
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 8, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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 8, 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.
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 Skalinder
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.
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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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.
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.
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.”
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:
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
