How has the Piano Studies curriculum evolved over the past decade to meet the needs of contemporary students?
Our classes have evolved to reflect changing perspectives and attitudes in our field. Our courses like Piano Literature, Performance and Entrepreneurship in 20th- and 21st-Century Piano Music, and Colloquy (a professional development course for graduate students) reflect a contemporary understanding of issues of diversity and inclusion, and bring current, socially conscious perspectives to bear on long-standing traditions of piano repertoire, performance, and pedagogy.
How has the selection of repertoire for students changed in recent years? Is there growing interest for more diverse composers and styles?
Definitely. We still hear plenty of the “classics,” but every year we hear more works by contemporary voices, female composers, composers of color, lesser-known composers. This is driven by the interests of our diverse faculty, of course, but also by the evolving interests and attitudes of students themselves, who are more and more eager to step outside the box, and to find repertoire that speaks to their personal values and their unique sense of purpose as musicians.
How have student goals changed in the last ten years? Are students today more interested in specific genres or career paths that have impacted the way you approach teaching?
The world of music is always evolving, as are the potential career paths for our students. While we continue to provide our pianists with extraordinary performance training, we have expanded their opportunities to take Steinhardt's cutting-edge course offerings in Performing Arts Administration, Music Technology, Music Business, and other fields. And so, while many of our alumni continue to pursue careers as performers and teachers, others are pursuing successful careers as singer-songwriters, musical theater conductors and directors, artist managers, recording technicians, and film composers. Essentially, we aspire to mentor students in a way that helps them find an individual path in a vast musical universe.
