Farshad Zadeh is a pianist, educator, and collaborator based in his hometown of Princeton, NJ. Dr. Zadeh started playing piano at age 4, and made his debut with orchestra at age 11. During his pre-college years, Dr. Zadeh studied piano with Larissa Korkina at the Westminster Conservatory in Princeton. He earned his bachelor's degree at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Alvin Chow. He received his master's and doctorate at the University of Texas in Austin, where he studied with Anton Nel. His doctoral thesis was on transcriptions written by concert pianists from the turn of the 20th century, exploring how artistic personality and public persona intersects with transcription approaches. He has presented at the MTNA National Conference several times as part of the MTNA Collegiate Chapter at UT Austin, where he also served as president of the chapter.
Dr. Zadeh believes deeply in training well-rounded musicians in his teaching approach, grounding students in the technical fundamentals but also fostering curiosity and joy in the learning process. He has taught piano to students of all levels and ages, including children, young adults, college students, and adults. In addition to the New School for Music Study, Dr. Zadeh is currently a faculty member at the Trinity Strings program in Trenton, NJ, as well as the Blue Mountain Festival, a summer chamber music festival based in Emmitsburg, MD.