We are excited to welcome Chee-Hwa Tan to NSMS, February 21st through 23rd. She will observe lessons and classes at NSMS and coach students. Chee-Hwa will also present a workshop for NSMS faculty and area piano teachers through the Frances Clark Center Residency Program. We invite you attend.
Didactic Composition: A Peek Behind the Scenes
Wednesday, February 22nd
11:00AM-12:00PM
Have you ever wondered how didactic music is created, the criteria and considerations, and
whether you could try your hand at it yourself? Those who love to teach and who love to play
are the best candidates for composing pieces for their students! This session will share behind
the scenes personal insights into creating for student needs through an overview of Chee-Hwa
Tan’s compositions and the intent and inspiration behind her music.
Click here to register. Free for Piano Magazine subscribers, and $25 for non-subscribers. If you would like to become a subscriber and attend this and future workshops for free, click here: https://pianoinspires.com/subscribe/
Chee-Hwa Tan, composer and pianist-educator, is passionate about mentoring the next generation of musicians and supporters of the Arts. She has served as the Head of Piano
Pedagogy at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music, and on the piano pedagogy
faculties at the Oberlin Conservatory and Southern Methodist University. During her tenure at DU, she created the Lamont Piano Preparatory Program, a cutting-edge, 21 st century teaching laboratory for the innovative teaching of group and private piano study for adults and children.
As a composer, Chee-Hwa explores the tonal colors of the instrument while encouraging
performers of all ages to connect at an emotional and intellectual level of understanding. Her
landmark work, A Child’s Garden of Verses - a collection of tone-poem etudes for solo piano -
has for decades empowered musicians young and old to discover their artistic voices through
the synthesis of technique, literature, and sound.
Chee-Hwa’s solo piano music is published by Piano Safari; with selections included in the
Repertoire and Study syllabi of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada, the Associated Board
of the Royal Schools of Music, London, and the London College of Music. Her publishing
company Dayung Sampan Music expands her philosophy of music making and artistry to other
instrumental combinations at all levels.
A native of Malaysia and a naturalized U.S. citizen, Chee-Hwa holds Masters’ degrees in Piano
Performance and Piano Pedagogy from the Southern Methodist University and a B.A. in Piano
Performance and English from Oral Roberts University. Her teachers include Alfred Mouledous,
Joaquin Achucarro, E. Gregory Nagode, and Joyce Bridgman. You may connect or find out more
about Chee-Hwa at her website: chee-hwa.com.