Students Lindsay Tarbet and Harvey Dam work with faculty member Vedrana Subotic.
For 100 years the University of Utah has been preparing piano students for professional careers in performance, musical accompaniment, and teaching as Utah’s premier center for piano education. The U commemorated this legacy with a centennial campaign focused on increasing resources to ensure student success. With a goal to raise $100,000 by spring 2014, the one-year campaign for the piano was part of a larger five-year effort to raise $500,000 to ensure that the next century remains as successful as the last for the School of Music. A Century of Piano at the U Campaign chairs were Craig and Melissa Ballard. Melissa received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance at the U and is founding chair of the School of Music Advisory Board. Craig, a business graduate and managing partner of a private equity firm, has been a piano scholarship donor and a School of Music supporter with Melissa. The areas of greatest need include scholarships, K-12 outreach programs, and educational enrichment experiences.
Scholarships
The rigors of practice make it difficult for piano majors to work while in school. With in-state tuition above $8,000 a year for music majors, scholarships are needed to support students and allow them to complete their degree in a reasonable time.
K-12 Outreach
Through its programs for children, the Piano Area develops not only piano proficiency, but also broader life skills, including discipline, focus, and goal achievement. A decade-long partnership between the U and the Salt Lake City School District employs U students to teach piano in Title 1 schools, which have high percentages of students from families living in poverty. Research has shown that music instruction helps students improve in core academic subjects, including math and reading, while helping prevent behavior and truancy problems.
Educational Enrichment
Master classes with world-class artists travel to international competitions, and solo recitals on the symphony stage offer extraordinary opportunities to prepare students for the competition they will face as performing artists.
The U’s internationally trained piano faculty offer diverse instruction and preparation for performance. (The U is the only school in the state to offer a doctoral degree in piano performance.) In addition, the U is one of only 135 all-Steinway educational institutions in the world, meeting Steinway’s rigorous standards of quality and excellence. As part of an all-Steinway university, the School of Music offers some of the finest performance pianos and facilities in the country.
One additional aspect of the program includes an annual international piano festival, which is held on campus each summer, giving participants the opportunity to fine-tune their skills by participating in classes and learning from prominent teachers and concert pianists. The festival’s challenging program prepares participants for a final piano competition at which winners receive cash prizes.
