Marvin Blickenstaff joined the New School in 1999. He is an active private lesson instructor, and he serves as co-director of the PEPS Program. He frequently performs in NSMS faculty recitals and in solo recitals around the tri-state area, including at Carnegie Hall.
Mr. Blickenstaff holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and from Indiana University, where he received both academic and performance honors. He is well-known across the country and in Canada for his frequent presentations at state and national conferences. For his many contributions to the field of piano performance and pedagogy, the Music Teachers National Association Foundation established the Marvin Blickenstaff Endowment Fund in his honor.
In 2007, the online journal Piano Pedagogy Forum published tributes to Mr. Blickenstaff honoring his contribution to piano teaching in America. Also in 2007, he was named Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He was honored in 2009 with MTNA’s highest honor, the MTNA Achievement Award.
Mr. Blickenstaff has served as chair of the piano departments at the University of North Carolina/ Chapel Hill and Goshen College (IN), and from 2000-2013 he was President of the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy. With Dr. Qin Ling, he worked to translate the Center's very first Chinese webinar, “Teaching Little Ears to Hear,” in 2022.
Mr. Blickenstaff's book for piano teachers, Inspired Piano Teaching, was published by the Frances Clark Center in 2024. He continues to make a significant impact on teachers throughout the country through his teaching, lecturing, and publishing.