Northwestern University
Bienen School of Music
Programs of Study
Piano

| Degrees Available | About the Piano Program | Piano Faculty |

Degrees Available

  • Bachelor of Music in Performance
  • Master of Music in Performance
  • Master of Music in Performance and Collaborative Arts
  • Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy
  • Master of Music Education and Piano Pedagogy
  • Certificate in Performance
  • Doctor of Music in Performance
  • Doctor of Music Performance and Collaborative Arts
  • Doctor of Music Performance and Pedagogy

 

About the Piano Program

The heart of the piano program is applied studies, Click to listen to performances by Northwestern studentsconsisting of weekly individual one-hour lessons with artist-teachers, supplemented by studio performance classes. Students may enrich their program by taking advantage of related courses such as Piano Pedagogy, Piano Repertoire, Accompanying/Chamber Music, Performance Practice, and organ and harpsichord study.

All majors attend a weekly recital hour where they may perform for their colleagues. Other performance opportunities are available both on and off campus, including master classes with visiting artists.

All entering doctoral students receive the equivalent of full tuition funding.

 

Contact for further information:

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Piano Faculty


Marcia Bosits

Associate Professor, Piano Pedagogy

m-bosits@northwestern.edu - 847-491-5735
DMus, Northwestern University
Recent Activity

Director of Graduate Studies. Director of piano pedagogy. Internationally recognized performance and pedagogy specialist. Has presented master classes and seminars throughout the United States, Canada, and the Far East. Officer, Music Teachers National Association and National Conference on Piano Pedagogy. Chamber musician; author of articles in national music journals.

Elizabeth Buccheri

Senior Lecturer, Piano and Collaborative Arts

e-buccheri@northwestern.edu - 847-491-3242
DMusA, Eastman School of Music
Recent Activity

Chamber musician and vocal coach. Assistant conductor, Lyric Opera of Chicago (1987-present). Founder and music director, Chamber Music at North Park concert series. Previously collaborative pianist, Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute for Young Artists, and pianist, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Performances with Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vermeer and Shanghai String Quartets, Midori, Gil Shaham, Pawel Berman, Suzanne Mentzer, Samuel Ramey, and Sherrill Milnes. Solo and chamber music recordings on CRI, Spectrum, Sony, Cedille, Boston, and Albany. Musical preparation for numerous performances and recordings by Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Studied with Brooks Smith at the Eastman School of Music. First American musician to receive the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Award.

Alan Chow

Associate Professor, Piano

alan-chow@northwestern.edu - 847-491-5725
MMus, Juilliard School
Recent Activity

Coordinator, piano program. First prize, Concert Artists Guild Competition; grand prize, Palm Beach International Piano Competition; silver medal and audience favorite prize, Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. Soloist with Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony, Utah Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras. Recitals in New York's Alice Tully Hall and throughout the United States; concert tours of Hong Kong, Japan, China, and Taiwan. Former artist-in-residence, University of Arkansas. Studied with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University, Sascha Gorodnitzki at the Juilliard School, and Nelita True at the University of Maryland.

Julian Dawson

Lecturer, Piano

jsdawson@northwestern.edu

Biographical information to follow.

James Giles

Assistant Professor, Piano

jgiles@northwestern.edu - 847-491-5733
DMusA, Manhattan School of Music
Recent Activity

First-prize winner, New Orleans International Piano Competition, Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, Music Teachers National Association Competition. Recipient, American Pianists Association Fellowship Award; Fulbright scholar. Soloist with Jupiter Symphony (New York), London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, Kharkiv (Ukraine) Philharmonic, Opera Orchestra of New York. Recitals at Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, Kennedy Center. Premiered works by Bolcom, Curtis-Smith, Hough, Liebermann, Rorem, Thomas, and Wild. Founder, Las Vegas Piano Institute. Piano division chair, Eastern Music Festival. Former faculty member, University of North Texas, Interlochen Arts Academy. Studied with Byron Janis, Lazar Berman, and Jerome Lowenthal at the Juilliard School, Nelita True at Eastman School of Music, and Robert Shannon at Oberlin College. For more information, visit www.jamesgiles.net.

Margaret McElwain Kemper

Associate Professor, General Music

mkemper@northwestern.edu - 847-491-7575
MMus, Northwestern University
Recent Activity

Fulbright scholar with André Marchal, Paris. Past national president, American Guild of Organists. Organist and director of music, Presbyterian Homes, Evanston. Organist, Kenilworth Union Church. Recitalist in the United States and abroad. Studied with Arthur Carkeek at DePauw University and Barrett Spach at Northwestern; additional study with Marie-Claire Alain and Anton Heiller, Academy for Organists, Haarlem, the Netherlands

Sylvia Wang

Associate Professor, Piano

sylvia-wang@northwestern.edu - 847-491-3906
DMusA, Eastman School of Music
Recent Activity

Solo and collaborative performances throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Far East. Recordings of Debussy on Cadenza Classics, chamber music on Newport Classics and Boston Records, contemporary American music on Northeastern and CRI. Winner and finalist in various competitions, including Royal Overseas League Festival in London, AVANTI award leading to a debut in London's Purcell Room, Yellow Springs Chamber Music Competition, J.S. Bach International Piano Competition. Honorary Associate, Royal Academy of Music in London. Presented as guest teacher/panelist by organizations such as The Chautauqua Institution, United States Information Service, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Yamaha Music Malaysia. Students have won awards at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition, Union League Competition, Tokyo International Piano Duo Competition, Shostakovich Competition in St. Petersburg. Studied with David Burge at the Eastman School of Music and with Hamish Milne and Dennis Murdoch at the Royal Academy of Music as an Associated Board scholar.

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