Some piano teachers that have a musical gift beyond the ordinary, however, have made history in the field of piano instructors around the world – a few of them being: Abby Whiteside, Sophia Rosoff, Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Sokoloff, and more. Here, you will be introduced to three piano instructors who are among the crème de le crème of pianists who have graced famous concert halls and humble piano-instruction studios.
Barry Snyder
Barry Snyder began to play the piano at the tender age of 6 and remains an iconic pianist; and any serious piano student who has had the honor of receiving instruction from him has been blessed, indeed. Mr. Snyder has performed around the world many times; and whether it has been a 3-week tour of Japan with violinist Asako Urushihara, a solo recital in Indonesia or a solo performance in St. Petersburg, Florida, it is always a sold-out event that becomes indelibly etched in people’s memories. The Dallas Morning News has called Mr. Snyder’s performances ‘Ravishing’; and The New Yorker sums up Mr. Synder’s performances in one word, as well: “Brilliant!”.
Aside from wooing and mesmerizing his audiences, Mr. Snyder is a coveted piano instructor, and has served as the very cherished and gifted Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He has offered his gift for performing and instructing at master classes in America, Europe and Asia. As might be expected, Mr. Snyder is among the distinguished collection of piano instructors listed in the publication, The Most Wanted Piano Teachers.
As an internationally-acclaimed pianist and teacher, Mr. Snyder won awards at the 1966 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition which included: 1) a Silver Medal 2) the Pan American Union Award and 3) the Chamber Music Prize.
Dr. Robert Pace
Dr. Robert Pace was a beloved piano instructor who is credited with revolutionizing piano instruction in, both, the 20th and 21st Centuries. His passion for the art of playing the piano as well as educating his students on how to become independent learners and lifelong musicians remain embedded in his enduring legacy.
At the age of 5, young Robert began taking piano lessons; and it was only 4 years later (in 1933) when he played radio concerts which truly ignited his illustrious musical journey. As an instructor, Dr. Pace was visionary and taught music through very elementary ideas that were intended to be incorporated with one another as well as being reshaped and revisited – a type of self-renewing teaching approach. He also felt very passionately about fostering an intimate relationship between student and piano, in a sense, since he was convinced there existed a correlation between musical experience and its positive impact on the quality of life for the budding student learning to play. That relationship, Dr. Pace pointed out, would go beyond the student and would, also, contribute towards the betterment of society, as a whole.
Probably one of the most coveted assignments for Dr. Pace was being appointed by President John F. Kennedy to a first-of-its-kind, four-member panel that would study and assess the state of music and music education in the United States. After President Kennedy’s death in 1963, Dr. Pace became the director of the National Piano Foundation and held that title for 15 years. Thereafter, he became executive director of the International Piano Teaching Foundation. It was in 2008 – only 2 years before his death – that Dr. Pace was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Music Educators National Conference. Dr. Pace’s life was piano music, playing the piano and teaching others how to play with passion and fall in love with this art-form he held so dear.
James Toco
James Toco is an American concert pianist who is among top-tier performers who tour the world. Only a few of his orchestral engagements include Berlin – London – Hong Kong philharmonics as well as Houston – Chicago – and Japan symphonies. The very gifted Mr. Toco has performed breath-taking recitals where interpretations of Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt have left audiences captivated and yearning for more.
Students in New York City and Lubeck, Germany are fortunate, indeed, to be recipients of Mr. Toco’s expertise where he offers his piano-instructing gifts at the Manhattan School of Music and the Musikhochschule, respectively. One can begin to appreciate the type of instruction that his students receive when one reminds oneself that Mr. Toco has toured the globe. Mr. Toco has left an unforgettable impression in the minds of his fans in the U.S., Canada, most of the countries of Europe and South America, the Soviet Union, Japan, Australia, South Africa and the Middle East!
James Toco’s fascination for music began early in his childhood, at the age of 6. It was, then, that young James’ curiosity began to fully bloom; and by the time he was only 12 years old, he made his orchestral debut where he performed Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto with absolute perfection. With awards being bestowed upon him on a continual basis, he became even more noticed when he won his first-prize victory at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany in 1973 – and the rest, as they say, is history!
