Coordinators:

Marilyn Nonken, 35 West Fourth Street, Suite 777, 212 998-5612, Marilyn.nonken@nyu.edu

Eduardus Halim, co-coordinator,  212 992 9372, Eh48@nyu.edu

Program Overview

The NYU Summer Piano Intensive brings serious young professionals and gifted student pianists to study and perform in America’s cultural capital, at one of the world’s most esteemed universities. The NYU Summer Piano Intensive offers instruction and mentoring appropriate for young professionals, serious college-age students focusing on careers in performance, and advanced high school students preparing for conservatory auditions and competitions.

The two-week session features private lessons with NYU Artist Faculty: Eduardus Halim: the final student of legendary pianists and pedagogues Vladimir Horowitz, Sascha Gorodnitzki, and Rudolf Firkusny, as well as a renowned performer. “Halim may be the most charismatic pianist to come along since Van Cliburn”. (New York Times)

Jose Ramon Mendez (Artist Faculty): A student of Byron Janis and Solomon Mikowsky, top prizewinner at competitions including the Pilar Bayona International, Hilton Head Island International, Frederick Chopin Competition (New York), and Hermanos Guerrero International,  and chamber artist who has worked with  Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, among others. “The Spanish pianist of his generation” (Hoja de Lunes de Madrid)

Marilyn Nonken: A student of contemporary music pioneers David Burge and Leonard Stein, and a performer and scholar of piano music of the 20^th and 21^st centuries. “This pianist enthusiastically explores modern and other contemporary areas where a lot of pianists fear to hang out,” writes the Village Voice, “and she packs enough artistry and technique for the journey”.

In addition to receiving one-on-one instruction with Artist Faculty, our pianists will also participate in master classes with internationally regarded guest artists such  Deirdre O'Donohue (NYU Steinhardt,  Hochschule fur Music und Darstellende Kunst, Vienna),  lecture-recitals, workshops, and intensive practice at NYU’s state of the art facilities. Our students will also visit A & C Pianocraft , one of New York’s most important purveyors and rebuilders of pianos, new, antique, and rebuilt, for an exclusive tour and private performance.

The emphasis of the NYU Summer Piano Intensive is on personal, artistic , and technical development. Special workshops will feature topics such as “The Etude: From the 19^th to the 21^st Century,” “Influential Pianists and Performance Practice,” “The Gorodnitzki Tradition: Exploring the Piano as a Singing Instrument” and “Performance Anxiety: An Owner’s Manual.” Those who participate will have the opportunity to perform in recital at both on- and off-campus venues, and appear in our Honors Ceremony to receive a Certificate of Artistic Excellence.

This year’s Summer Intensive will focus on the genre of the nocturne, Romanticism in piano music, and the art of the piano transcription. Students will be asked to bring a fully prepared nocturne (by Field, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Barber, etc), or a Romantic work ready for performance. Students will be asked to bring an additional work-in-progress. Those who wish to be considered for recital performances should bring 30-minutes of music, at performance level.

With daytimes devoted to classes, practice, and faculty presentations, evenings and weekends will feature visits to galleries, museums, and concert halls, as well as outings to sample the cultural and culinary life of Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side. Students will also be encouraged to explore the intellectual offerings of NYU, one of the premiere universities in the world, and meet with admissions officers to learn more about the application process and life as an NYU student.

Deadline

Application deadline: May 1, 2012
 Application requirements: a CD or DVD with two contrasting movements or works from the solo repertoire. Send audition materials to (or submit video online, instructions here):

Marilyn Nonken, Director
Program in Piano Studies
Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions
35 West Fourth Street, Suite 777
New York, NY 10012

Housing/Meals

Housing is available only for participants who are 16 years or older. Students stay in shared rooms in an NYU residence hall with one or two roommates. The residence hall is located near Washington Square Park, a short walk from campus buildings. The housing and meals cost includes a meal plan of 10 meals per week and a card with $25 declining dollars. Participants can eat meals in campus dining halls, Monday-Friday. Linens are provided; students should bring their own towels. The residence hall building has air conditioning and Internet access with an Ethernet cable.

NYU Public Safety Services officers are on duty 24 hours a day. Specially assigned Resident Assistants (R.A.) monitor discipline, including enforcing a curfew for students in this program, and help students as they adjust to living away from home. Because our standards for achievement are high, we accept highly motivated students who will enjoy the classes as well as the cultural activities. It is, therefore, important to know that failure to comply with regulations will be grounds for immediate dismissal from the program. Parents and/or guardians will be contacted as soon as any unsatisfactory behavior is recognized. Click here for more specific housing information.

Cost

The cost of the program is $1650. The fee for housing and meals is not included in the program fee.

Application Fee & Audition Materials

Participants must be 15 years or older to be considered. (Housing is available only for participants who are 16 years or older.)

If you would like to be considered for the workshop you must submit the following:


• a general online summer application_

• application fee of $50 (non-refundable, payable directly at the end of the summer online application, or separately using the online payment form or the paper payment form with a check)

• a DVD with two contrasting movements or works from the solo repertoire
 (you may also submit audtion video online, instructions here)
• a letter of recommendation from your current private teacher is required. The letter should be emailed directly from your teacher to marilyn.nonken@nyu.edu or mailed to the address below

For scholarship information, please contact the program director about writing a scholarship request essay.

Please be sure to include your contact information: phone number, mailing address, and your e-mail address as well as the name of your school and your year of study (i.e., high school senior, college junior).

 A letter of recommendation from your current private teacher is required, as is a repertoire list of all solo repertoire studied. Submit your application fee and audition materials online or mail to:

Marilyn Nonken, Director

Program in Piano Studies

Music and Performing Arts Professions

35 West Fourth Street, Suite 777

New York, NY 10012

If you submit your audition video online, you should put all your contact information requested above in the same email to Professor Nonken at Marilyn.nonken@nyu.edu.

Audition materials become the property of NYU Steinhardt and cannot be returned.