Sara Ernst, Seminar Leader

Sara Ernst, PhD, is an active pedagogue and pianist, and Director of Teacher Engagement for the Frances Clark Center. She is the Director of Piano Pedagogy and Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Oklahoma. She is former faculty of the University of South Carolina and Administrative Director at the New School for Music Study in New Jersey.

Marvin Blickenstaff, Guest Presenter

Marvin Blickenstaff joined The New School for Music Study in 1999, and serves as co-director of the PEPS Program. Blickenstaff holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and Indiana University, where he received both academic and performance honors. He is well-known across the country and in Canada for his frequent presentations at state and national conferences.

Scott Donald, Guest Presenter

Dr. Scott Donald, is the founder and co-owner of Studio A, a multi-teacher music studio and performance venue in Austin, TX. A native of South Carolina, he earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at Furman University in Greenville, SC. He completed his Master of Music in Applied Piano and Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education/Piano Pedagogy from UT-Austin. He currently serves as President-Elect for the Texas Music Teachers Association.

Judith Jain, Guest Presenter

Dr. Judith Jain is Founder and Executive Director of New Tampa Piano and Pedagogy Academy, a large, piano-only, pre-college academy in the US with close to 400 students. Dr. Jain’s performances, lectures and master classes are featured in the US and abroad. Dr. Jain holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from Indiana University, master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance from UC-CCM, and a post-graduate Fellowship from the New School for Music Study.

Andrea McAlister, Guest Presenter

Andrea McAlister is Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Director of Digital Programming for the Frances Clark Center, and Senior Editor of Piano Magazine. Her research has been featured at national and international conferences including the International Society of Music Education, Music Teachers National Association, College Music Society, and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. She is an inaugural member of the Yamaha Master Educator Collective in Keyboard Pedagogy.

Rebecca Pennington, Guest Presenter

Rebecca Mergen Pennington has been a member of the faculty of The New School for Music Study since 2007.  She currently serves as Administrative Director.  Dr. Pennington has been a frequent performer in faculty recitals, and teaches the popular Piano Detectives Club class for kindergarten students.  She holds a DMA and MM in Piano Performance from the University of Kansas and a BM in Music Education from Concordia College. 

Craig Sale, Guest Presenter

Craig Sale is Senior Editor for Piano Magazine and Director of Online Courses for the Frances Clark Center. He served as Director of the preparatory program at Concordia University Chicago (1986-2016). He has taught piano pedagogy at Concordia and, most recently, the University of Arizona. He holds performance degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Illinois, and a Professional Teaching Certificate from the New School for Music Study, where he studied pedagogy with Frances Clark and Louise Goss.

Janet Tschida, Guest Presenter

An Associate Professor of Music at Maranatha Baptist University, Janet Tschida teaches pedagogy and keyboard courses. She also supervises pedagogy internships in addition to serving as director of their community music program, Maranatha Music Prep. As a pedagogue, Janet endeavors to support and collaborate with teachers aspiring to implement an “inside out” approach as the pathway to literacy for young musicians.