Penn State Piano

05/07/2026

Congratulations, Dr. Melody Quah!

05/03/2026

We heard some OUTSTANDING piano playing across a run of recitals over the past two weeks. Congratulations to Yucheng Xu, Bohan Wu, Jing Shi, Yirui Ma, Liuxuanfang Li, Xiang Su, and Wanli Wang—your hard work clearly shone through!
Now, good luck to everyone for juries next week!

04/28/2026

Assistant Professor of Piano Katherine Benson is featured on "Faces & Masques," a new album with the Paramount Chamber Players, that will release on April 28 alongside a Tennessee tour with violinist William Shaub.

04/28/2026

Congrats to the Contemporary Music Ensemble, director Kevin Sims, and all the performers for such a cool, collaborative concert at the Palmer Museum last week at Penn State! Pianist Yanjun Huang, DMA student from Dr. Tim Shafer’s studio, was a powerful presence in the Rzewski. It was a special evening of poetry, visual art, and music!

04/27/2026

Congratulations to the newly minted Drs. Hyeonjeong Gong and Ivan Yumagulov on your successful self-prepared Final DMA Solo Recitals! Thank you for your sensitive and commanding music-making!

04/20/2026

Many thanks to Dr. Tim Shafer and his daughter, Sarah Shafer, for an unforgettable recital last Friday evening. The program featured works by Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Ravel, and Francis Poulenc.

04/20/2026

PSU piano in the community! Doctoral students Xiang Su and Yucheng Xu performed a beautiful recital for the most warm and appreciative audience at the Village At Penn State last week. Thank you to Jim Beckman and team for hosting us so generously.

04/20/2026

Some of our PSU pianists performed in a fabulous chamber music concert earlier this month, which featured both the unusual and the classics. Bravi, pianists Ashley Liu, Carolyn Barr, Ziyi Ji, and honorary pianist Dor Amran; bravi, strings!

04/14/2026

Please join us this Friday for Dr. Timothy Shafer’s faculty recital!

The School of Music presents a special faculty recital featuring piano professor Dr. Timothy Shafer and his daughter, soprano Sarah Shafer, in an evening of evocative French music this Friday at 7:30 p.m. April 17 in the Recital Hall.

The program highlights the intimate and expressive connection between voice and piano, with Olivier Messiaen’s deeply personal Poèmes pour Mi, followed by Maurice Ravel’s shimmering Valses nobles et sentimentales for solo piano. Concluding with the wit and charm of Francis Poulenc’s Fiançailles pour rire, this father-daughter collaboration offers a rich exploration of love, devotion, and the nuances of human emotion.

Admission is free.

04/07/2026

Our Penn State piano students, Xiang, Charlie and Ji, presented a cozy mini-recital yesterday for the members of CMPTA, our local MTNA affiliate. Thank you your hospitality, Steven Herbert Smith and Theresa Vincent Smith! (The students were in awe of the storied wall of photographs in your basement!🤩)