BYU Piano Studies
BYU Piano Studies
The piano department at Brigham Young University offers world-class education in a spiritually uplifting environment. Through the academic curriculum and performance opportunities, we seek to strengthen our students’ musical literacy and artistry, as well as build a culture of understanding, exploration, and collaboration.
About Piano Studies
About Piano Studies
BYU School of Music Piano Competition
Come participate in BYU Piano's first statewide competition! Cash prizes for winners and an opportunity to be recorded and aired on Classical89 FM.
Piano Blog
Brooke Ballard Wins the UMTA Piano Concerto Competition
BYU piano performance major, Brooke Ballard, received first place in the recent UMTA Piano Concerto Competition. This competition is open for all collegiate pianists in the state and had numerous entrants from all of the major universities in Utah. She performed Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 25. Brooke is from Riverton, Utah. She says, “This is one of my favorite pieces to perform, and I’m honored to be awarded for it.” Brooke is studying with Dr. Scott Holden. Here is a live recording of her performance recorded during her recent sophomore recital.
Ariel Wong Wins the MTNA Piano Competition
Congratulations to Ariel Wong, BYU sophomore and piano performance major. She was the winner of MTNA’s 2021 national competition for the high school division. Previously, she was the 1st prize winner for the state of Utah and the Southwest Division. (Ariel skipped a grade, and being 18, still qualified to compete in this division.) Her repertoire included Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses, Op.54, Dutilleux’s Chorale and Variations, and Wagner-Liszt’s Liebestod. Ariel is from Hong Kong. This is the second year in a row that a BYU student has made it to the national finals. Attached is a video of her playing Rachmaninov while competing in the 2020 Emory Young Artist competition in Atlanta, where she was prize winner. Way to go, Ariel!
A Visit with Paul Sheftel: Pedagogy Beyond the Keys
Paul Sheftel, a renowned piano performer, pedagogue, composer, and leading figure in the creation of MIDI technology learning materials, visited BYU (via Zoom) earlier this month. He called in from New York City to meet with BYU’s piano pedagogy class (MUSIC 364), taught by Professor Jihea Hong-Park.