Keyboard Studies

Students with an interest in keyboard instruction and performance can draw upon a comprehensive program of study designed to meet a wide variety of vocational and avocational goals.  Music majors and minors, as well as non-majors as space permits, may enroll for private instruction in piano, organ, harpsichord, fortepiano and carillon.  Regular opportunities for performance include weekly studio class meetings, student afternoon recitals, monthly keyboard division recitals, and performances for visiting guest artists.

 

Keyboard Faculty

Nancy Cooper

Nancy Cooper

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Organ

Christopher Hahn

Christopher Hahn

Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy, Keyboard Area Coordinator

Margery Whatley

Margery Whatley

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Piano

Piano

Piano study at The University of Montana at both the undergraduate and graduate level is designed to provide enriching and stimulating experience.  A well-rounded and intensive curriculum includes piano literature, piano pedagogy, jazz studies, advanced keyboard harmony, accompanying classes and piano ensembles.  Our Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy degree is designed to prepare pianists for a successful career as a performer and teacher.  With a dedicated and nationally recognized faculty who are committed to performing and teaching, our students receive instruction and guidance from those who practice what they teach.

The School of Music boasts two beautiful Steinway concert grand pianos, including a new Steinway D Concert Grand.  In addition, there is a Steinway D Concert Grand and a Yamaha CFIII Concert Grand Piano with Disklavier technology located in the Dennison Theatre, our large concert hall adjacent to the music building.  The School of Music has a large complement of Steinway grand pianos available for student use, and piano students earn access to the dedicated grand piano practice rooms and classroom facilities.  There is also a Korg digital piano laboratory with computer stations for composition and digital effects processing.

 

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Organ

Organ study at the University of Montana is available at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  The curriculum includes a weekly hour-long private lesson, a weekly studio class with both UM organ students and community organists, as well as the study of organ literature, pedagogy, service playing, organ construction and design. Our organ instructor, Nancy Cooper, has a doctorate and Artist’s Diploma from the Eastman School of Music, and is involved in the American Guild of Organists at the national level; our local chapter of the AGO has a thriving student membership, and attendance at regional and national conventions is encouraged, and frequently subsidized by the chapter. 

The School of Music has two organs in the Music Recital Hall, our primary recital space: a three-manual Moller electro-pneumatic instrument, and a one- manual Walcker tracker-action continuo/chamber organ. There are two practice instruments in rooms designated for organ practice alone: a two-manual Moller, and a two-manual Schlicker tracker. In addition, pipe organs in the community are often available for student use, and students are encouraged to work, and/or otherwise participate, in area churches with established music programs, as substitutes and as interns.  

Harpsichord,  Fortepiano, Carillon

The School of Music owns 4 period instruments: the previously mentioned continuo organ in the Recital Hall, as well as a fortepiano (a 1750's Stein copy)  and two harpsichords—a French double, and a Flemish single, all available for student use.  The clock tower in Main Hall on the University of Montana campus is home to one of only three carillons in the Pacific Northwest.  The school has a practice carillon in the music building, and students taking lessons can perform in the tower at noon on weekdays. 

 

Celebrate Piano Series

The Celebrate Piano Series attracts illustrious keyboard guest artists and clinicians to campus for residencies and visits.  These nationally recognized performers present master classes for students, serve as teachers for our annual Keyboard Festival, and perform in solo recitals.  Recent artists include Anderson & Roe, Spencer Myer, Duo Turgeon, Stephen Beus, Lydia Brown, Margery McDuffie Whatley, Barbara Blegen, Jennifer Hayghe, and Bernadine Blaha and Kevin Fitzgerald.  The Celebrate Piano Series also includes the wildly popular Pianissimo! and Poco Pianissimo! concerts.  In addition, guest artists perform each year with such ensembles as the University Symphony Orchestra, The String Orchestra of the Rockies, and Missoula Symphony Orchestra.