What’s New at The New School for Music Study? | 2026–27

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For more than 65 years, The New School for Music Study (NSMS) has been a place where the study of music and the study of teaching belong together. The educational vision of Frances Clark and Louise Goss continues to shape the school today, not simply as part of its history, but in the daily work of teachers and students at the piano.

The 2026–2027 year brings an important expansion of that work. This fall, The Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy opens the Piano Inspires Music Center in Hopewell, New Jersey, extending the reach of NSMS while creating new opportunities for music study in the region. Piano and wind instruction, music theory, and chamber music will become part of the new center’s growing community.

In Kingston, a new season of teaching and learning is also underway. The second year of the Piano Teacher Engagement Series brings teachers together for continued professional study and exchange. Faculty and students will share music in concert halls, libraries, and community spaces, while families will take part in the traditions that have long been part of life at NSMS.

There is much to look forward to this year, but the work begins where it always has: with attention to the learner and a belief in what thoughtful teaching can make possible.

Growing into Hopewell

The opening of the Piano Inspires Music Center gives us an opportunity to consider what it means to carry an educational tradition into a new setting. Frances Clark and Louise Goss built their work around close attention to the learner. Their ideas continue to influence how we think about teaching at NSMS. Teaching cannot be reduced to a fixed set of procedures; it depends on knowing the student in front of us. We observe what a student understands and listen for what they hear. From there, we decide what might help them move forward.

The Hopewell Center gives us another place to continue this work while broadening the musical experiences available to students. Alongside piano study, students will have opportunities for wind instruction, music theory, group piano, and chamber music.

Hopewell will also develop its own character. The intention is not to reproduce Kingston in another building. As teachers, students, and families begin working together, relationships will form and traditions will emerge. The educational principles that have sustained NSMS provide a foundation while leaving room for a new musical community to grow.

A Community of Learning for Teachers

Teacher education has been central to NSMS since its founding. Now entering its second year, the Piano Teacher Engagement Series gives teachers a regular place to learn with and from one another.

The conversation extends beyond our own faculty. Teachers and pedagogues from the wider New Jersey community join NSMS throughout the year, sharing their expertise and bringing perspectives from their own teaching. This exchange has become an important part of the series.

Experience changes the questions we ask as teachers. A student may play something correctly, but do they understand it? Another may understand the musical idea but not yet have the technical means to realize it. Sometimes we need to offer another way into a problem. At other times, the student needs enough space to find a solution.

The 2026–2027 season begins with Opening Doors to Musical Learning: Honoring the Legacy of Marvin Blickenstaff, presented by Amy Glennon, Rebecca Pennington, and Trevor Thornton. The session provides an opportunity to consider Blickenstaff’s influence and the ways his teaching continues to resonate in our own work with students.

Later in October, Eden Brown will explore facilitation and student agency in “The Art of Letting Go: Facilitation and Student Agency in the Piano Studio.” Andrea McAlister will turn to creativity in “Beyond the Notes: Unlocking Musical Creativity at Every Level,” while Margarita Denenburg will focus on the beginning years of study in “Creating Strong Foundations for Beginning Pianists.”

The season brings many other voices into the conversation. Phyllis Lehrer will address healthy technique for lifelong music making. Nancy Modell will explore composition and improvisation as part of creative musicianship. Danette Whelan will consider mindfulness, movement, and the neuroscience of learning. Ingrid Clarfield will explore motivation in the piano studio, and Chiu-Ling Lin will lead teachers through a progressive journey into nineteenth-century piano literature.

Some topics benefit especially from hearing several perspectives. Miriam Eley, Qin Ling, and Margie Nelson will consider conversations with parents that support learners. Later in the year, Christine Kang, TianYi Li, and Chiung-yin Cheng Liu will share perspectives on finding one’s place in the piano profession.

NSMS faculty contribute their own experiences to the exchange. In December, Carla Salas-Ruiz, Molly Sanford, and Xiaoya Gao will share what they are learning about the practical use of artificial intelligence in the piano studio. A January repertoire exchange with Jason Gallagher, Kairy Koshoeva, and Chiu-Ling Lin will bring teachers together around hidden gems, diverse voices, and student favorites.

There is particular value in hearing how another teacher approaches something we encounter in our own studios. A colleague may give language to an idea we have been trying to articulate or see a possibility we have overlooked. An idea encountered during a Wednesday morning session may find its way into a lesson later that day.

In its second year, the Piano Teacher Engagement Series continues to make room for this kind of professional exchange. The study of teaching remains an active part of being a teacher.

When Music Leaves the Lesson Room

At NSMS, a love of music is something to be shared. Throughout the year, students and faculty bring music into libraries, retirement communities, movie theaters, and other gathering places, connecting with audiences of all ages.

The 2026–2027 season offers students many opportunities to take part. Spooky Sounds returns in October, followed by winter performances in December, Piano Progressions in March, and the Silent Film Celebration at local movie theaters in April. Spring recital celebrations round out the season in May and June. Members of the Program for Excellence in Piano Study (PEPS) will also present Variations for Marvin at Princeton Public Library.

Sensory-friendly recitals are also planned, creating welcoming opportunities for children and families to experience live music. Friends at Last brings beginning and advanced students together in narrated duet performances—kids playing for kids and sharing the joy of making music together.

Faculty share in this commitment. This year’s concerts at Nassau Presbyterian Church and Stonebridge at Montgomery, The Music We Love to Share and The Stories We Tell Through Music, invite audiences into the music and stories that inspire our teachers as performers.

Our partnerships with Princeton Public Library and Plainsboro Public Library continue with lecture recitals that combine performance and musical exploration. Gonzalo Aguilar will explore Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Kairy Koshoeva will present Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Xiaoya Gao will share the piano music of Xinjiang, and Molly Sanford will explore music by Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev.

Each setting creates a different connection between performer and listener. A library welcomes new and curious audiences; a retirement community brings generations together; a movie theater connects live music with another art form. For students, these performances also introduce an important dimension of musicianship: using what they are learning in service to others.

Looking Ahead

The 2026–2027 year is an important one for our community. As NSMS continues its work in Kingston and the Piano Inspires Music Center welcomes students and families in Hopewell, we are grateful for the teachers, students, families, and colleagues who bring this work to life.

We look forward to learning together, sharing music, and welcoming new people into a community that has been growing through music for more than 65 years.

We hope you’ll join us for a concert, a teacher engagement session, or one of the many opportunities to connect throughout the year. We look forward to seeing you.

Learn more about teaching and professional development opportunities at The New School for Music Study by clicking here.

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