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.

Christopher Hahn

Professor of Piano and Piano Pedagogy, Keyboard Area Coordinator

Contact

Office: MUS207
Phone: 406-243-3490 or 406-546-5932
Fax: 406-243-2441
Email: christopher.hahn@umontana.edu

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Personal Summary

Christopher Hahn maintains a multifaceted career as pianist, adjudicator, clinician and author. He has been featured as a solo and collaborative artist throughout North America and Europe, and has performed in recital at Carnegie Hall--Weill Recital Hall, The Music Gallery in Toronto, and the Haydnsaal in Eisenstadt, Austria. He had the honor of performing for the Archbishop Desmond Tutu with the Metropolitan Opera's Leona Mitchell, and has also performed with such recognized artists as flutist Christina Jennings, trumpet/piano virtuoso Guy Few, pianist Lydia Brown, violinists Timothy Fain and Eugenia Choi, cellist Amit Peled, and Russian dissident poet, Evgeny Yevtushenko. He has collaborated with composers David Maslanka, Libby Larsen, and Samuel Adler.

Dr. Hahn maintains an active schedule as a member of the CanAm Piano Duo with his partner, Karen Beres. The duo won the Silver Medal at the 2008 International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition in Boston, and received a Distinguished ranking at the 2009 IBLA Grand Prize competition in Ragusa, Italy. As avid proponents of contemporary music, Karen and Christopher perform a varied repertoire of new works and masterpieces of the twentieth century alongside more traditional works for the genre. The duo has a recording on the Albany Records label entitled This Is The World featuring their commissioned work for two pianos and percussion by renowned composer, David Maslanka. The review in the American Record Guide states, "these players are impressive, and their work should interest all devotees of the piano four-hands genre." Christopher and Karen are much-sought after as pedagogues, and have served as featured presenters at the Seminar for Piano Teacher and the Classical Music Festival in Austria with Jane Magrath, the World Pedagogy Conference in Serbia, the MTNA National Conference, and at state conferences and as artists-in-residence at various universities. They have published a book with Alfred Music entitled The Pianist's Guide to Standard Performance and Teaching Concertos. Visit them at www.canampianoduo.com for more information.

As a pedagogue, Dr. Hahn is frequently engaged as a clinician, adjudicator, teacher, and master class artist. He is a certified teacher with the Royal Conservatory of Music and helped to create the Piano Pedagogy Certification Program. As a Regional Leader for the Royal Conservatory, he helped to develop and grow the program with teachers and community music schools throughout the US. He has been a member of the College of Examiners in both piano and piano pedagogy since 2004. A nationally certified teacher of music (NCTM) and Past-President of the Montana State Music Teachers Association, Hahn was elected to serve on the MTNA National Board of Directors for 2016-2018, and continues to promote programs and initiatives that serve the Young Professionals and Collegiate Chapters in MTNA.

Dr. Hahn serves as keyboard division chair and is professor of piano and piano pedagogy at the University of Montana where he teaches undergraduate and graduate students. The recipient of Meritorious Teaching Awards on three occasions, his students have been featured on the NPR program From the Top, as national finalists in the MTNA Chamber Music Competition in Toronto, Canada, as soloists with orchestras in the Northwest, and have been selected as winners of various competitions in the region, including the Montana Association of Symphony Orchestras Concerto Competition and the Frances Walton/Ladies Musical Club Competition in Seattle. His students have been accepted into prestigious programs such as the Manhattan School of Music, Berklee College of Music, The University of Michigan and Florida State University, and at summer programs including the Brevard Music Center, AIMS, and the Zodiac Music Festival in France. The Keyboard Society at the University of Montana was awarded the MTNA Collegiate Chapter of the Year Award with Hahn as their advisor in 2010 and again in 2016. His students have presented at MTNA National and State Conferences. Dr. Hahn is the principle keyboardist for the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, having previously held positions with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Hahn serves as the artistic director of the Celebrate Piano Series at the University of Montana, which brings world-class artists to the university for Missoula audiences. He was honored to be inducted into the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame in 2021, and to receive the Teacher of the Year Award presented by the Montana State Music Teachers Association in the same year.

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.

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.

Meet Our Carillonneur!

Barbara Ballas attended the University of Montana where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy studying with J. George Hummel. She also earned a Master of Music in Music Composition studying under Dr. Donald Johnston. In the following years she taught piano privately and also worked as an accompanist for area schools and churches. She was a long-time member of the Missoula Music Teachers Association as well as the state and national groups. More recently she discovered the carillon and, with the mentorship of Dr. Nancy Cooper, began playing the University's 47-bell instrument housed in University Hall. She has been the University's carillonneur since 2018 and a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America since 2013.

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.