Piano Studio

With its internationally renowned performance faculty, favorable student-teacher ratio, and first-class facilities, the University of Louisville School of Music trains talented pianists not only from Kentucky, but from all corners of the world. Piano faculty members provide highly individualized instruction for both aspiring performers and teachers. Students cover a wide range of repertoire including music by living composers. The faculty provides expertise and resources to the community, region, and state through public performances and outreach programs for teachers and pre-collegiate students.

Degrees are designed to develop the skills students will need as professionals and broaden their knowledge and understanding of music history and literature, theory, and the humanities. Ample opportunities are provided for public performance, teaching, and other professional experiences.

Degrees of interest to piano majors include:

• Bachelor of Music with emphasis in Piano Performance, Piano Performance with concentration in Piano Pedagogy, Composition, Theory, Music     History, and Music Therapy  
• Bachelor of Music Education  
• Bachelor of Music Education (Pre-Certification)
  
• Bachelor of Arts in Music
• Master of Music in Music Performance with concentrations in Piano Performance, Piano Pedagogy, Composition, Theory, Music History, or Conducting
• Master of Music Education
• Master of Arts in Teaching in Music Education

Generous financial aid is available, including undergraduate scholarships and graduate service awards. Graduate teaching assistantships provide full tuition plus a minimum stipend of $12,000 and health insurance.

The School of Music building contains two recital halls, a 15,000 square foot music library, forty-four teaching studios, and seventy-six practice rooms, many of them reserved exclusively for piano majors. The school is well on its way to becoming an “All-Steinway School”. The 560-seat Margaret Comstock Concert Hall houses three concert Steinway concert grand pianos and a 64-rank Steiner-Reck organ, the largest of its kind in the Midwest. Also available to students are five harpsichords and a number of practice organs. A class piano lab consists of 16 Yamaha Clavinova keyboards.

Piano Faculty

Naomi Oliphant, Area Coordinator, piano, piano ensemble

Krista Wallace-Boaz, piano, class piano, piano pedagogy

Dror Biran - the keyboard faculty are delighted to welcome the newest faculty member, Dr. Dror Biran 

Karen Griffin, class piano

(from left to right: Krista Wallace-Boaz, Naomi Oliphant)  

(Dror Biran)

 
Piano Students

Piano Related Courses

Applied Study on Piano, Organ or Harpsichord

Piano Ensemble (Piano Duets, Chamber Music and Accompanying, Art Song Literature)

Keyboard Skills

Piano Pedagogy I-IV

Piano Pedagogy Practicum I & II

Advanced Piano Pedagogy I-IV

Baroque Keyboard Literature

Piano Literature I & II

Special Topics: Interpretation Seminar

Pictured left: Keyboard reunion of graduates in the New York area following the Carnegie Hall performance of the Grawemeyer Players, March 9, 2010

Pictured left: Piano majors attended the KMTA State Conference held at Campbellsville University in October 2008 along with faculty members, Dr. Naomi Oliphant and Dr. Krista Wallace-Boaz

Recent guest artists who have given recitals,  master classes or residencies

Alicia de Larrocha, Richard Glazier, Richard Goode, Lee Luvisi (UofL Professor Emeritus), and Russell Sherman

2009 Van Cliburn Competition Winners

• Haochen Zhang, Gold Medalist (pictured right - Piano students and faculty with Haochen Zhang, the 2009 Gold Medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (5th from right in back row) who gave a master class for our students and a public recital on campus in October 2010.)

• Yeol Yun Sum, Silver Medalist

2005 Van Cliburn Competition Winners

• Alexander Kobrin, Gold Medalist
• Joyce Yang, Silver Medalist
• Sa Chen, Crystal Winner

2001 Van Cliburn Competition Winners

• Olga Kern and Stanislav Ioudenitch, Gold Medalists
• Maxim Philippov and Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Silver Medalists

• Tian Ying, 1989 Van Cliburn CompetitionFinalist

• Ning An, 2003 William Kapell Piano Competition Winner
• Wendy Chen, 1997 Young Concert ArtistsWinner Richard Kogan, Winner of Concert Artists Guild, Chopin Competition of Kosciuszko Foundation
• Chu-Fang Huang, Winner, 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition 
• Kotaro Fukuma, Winner, 2003 Cleveland International Piano Competition
• Minsoo Sohn, First Laureate, 2006 Honens International Piano Competition

For additional information:

Dr. Naomi J. Oliphant, Associate Dean, Keyboard Area Coordinator
School of Music
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
Phone: (502) 852-0518
Fax: (502) 852-1874
E-mail: naomi.oliphant@louisville.edu
Website: music.louisville.edu

Photos

Dr. Brenda Kee (Professor Emerita), Dr. Naomi Oliphant, and piano students who performed in a master class given by Joyce Yang, Silver Medalist of the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

Ronald Gist, sponsor of the Gist Young Piano Competition Winners Recital Series with Joyce Yang, Silver Medalist of the 2005 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

Piano students with Dr. Naomi Oliphant and Dr. Brenda Kee after their recital of contemporary Polish piano music at the 2005 Kentucky Music Teachers State Conference