At the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” College of Music, student ingenuity and creativity know no bounds. Recently, two graduate students—Nicholas Felder, a DMA student in music composition and Ian Gunnarschja, a master’s student in saxophone performance and pedagogy—received grants supporting their innovative projects.

Felder’s grant came from  with support from the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Office of the Provost and CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” University Libraries. Open CU shares educational resources across the four CU campuses and beyond; any content created is made publicly available.

“My project—Equitable Practices in Music—will be an open Canvas course focusing on topics such as personal and social identity, systems of power and oppression, and cultural humility,” Felder says, “to support my Basic Composition class as well as student musicians broadly.”

Along with developing this resource, he has been leading equity workshops at our College of Music to help students consider practices such as compassionate listening and open communication. “I would love to thank the open educational resource [OER] leads and the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Digital Accessibility Office for all their support and guidance during the development of this project,” Felder adds.

While the College of Music is fortunate to have DEI Director Alexis McClain on staff, other colleges and schools of music across the country don’t have their own diversity, equity and inclusion resources or staff. “They rely on university programming to implement equitable practices,” Felder explains. “I’m looking forward to sharing this content with students in the College of Music and music schools nationwide.”

Gunnarschja’s grant came from the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Center for Humanities & the Arts' MFA/MM Excellence in Creative Research Microgrant which supports the creative practice of master’s students—e.g., equipment, space, materials and honoraria that are not otherwise covered.

“The grant supports my development of an accessible website that supports neurodiverse musicians in their pursuit of wellness,” Gunnarschja says. “This resource will focus on practices such as the Alexander Technique, Body Mapping and Dalcroze, alongside a curated selection of general resources that are beneficial to the neurodivergent community.”

More specifically, the CHA grant will help fund the website domain, allow Gunnarschja to interview experts and increase accessibility on the website.

“This website represents a novel approach to a master’s thesis by prioritizing an accessible, user-friendly and lasting format,” Gunnarschja adds. “I aim to foster a thriving community where musicians of varying neurodiversity can connect, support one another and access wellness resources that meet their unique needs.

“I look forward to creating a space where I can curate resources that I would have benefited from as a neurodiverse musician.”

Congratulations to Felder and Gunnarschja for their meaningful achievements!

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Photo: Internationally acclaimed clarinetist Mariam Adam headlines Colorado Clarinet Day 2025.

It seemed like a nice idea, recalls Professor of Clarinet Daniel Silver: Let’s gather together the clarinet programs at Colorado’s four major Front Range university music departments and create a day celebrating the clarinet with workshops, exhibits, a lecture, maybe a concert or two and a master class with a guest artist. Let's call it Colorado Clarinet Day.

That was 15 years ago—and it's been going strong ever since. On Jan. 19, 2025, Colorado Clarinet Day returns to the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” College of Music.

“There’s always been camaraderie among us,” notes Silver, referring to his counterparts at Colorado State University, the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. The clarinet departments agreed to each hold a Clarinet Day annually, with the locale rotating, so that each campus would host every four years; thus, it falls on CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” to welcome clarinet lovers to our Imig Music Building next month.

Every Colorado Clarinet Day is different, Silver points out. “Each host puts their own stamp on it.”

The upcoming Clarinet Day will begin with a morning recital by Colorado players (with guests from Wyoming), followed by Silver's talk on practicing techniques. An afternoon concert by the Ambler Clarinet Choir will be followed by a free evening recital featuring guest clarinetist â€”with Suyeon Kim, associate teaching professor, collaborative piano—at 6:45 p.m. in Grusin Music Hall.

Silver notes the significance of Adam’s presence. A founding member of Imani Winds and a sought-after international soloist, she represents more than a superior interpreter of the clarinet: “She’s a woman of color and—going back 30 years—there haven’t been many like her in the music world. We need more like her, shining a light on (musicians) who are not white males.”

Referencing the College of Music’s universal musician approach to achieving its mission, he adds: “We’re seeing a reflection of that here, where we’ve taken steps to increase the diversity of our people.”

Recalling the first Clarinet Day, Silver points out: “We had about 60 attendees. Now, each event attracts around 200.” So, who are all those clarinet lovers? Students, alumni, educators and performers, as well as exhibitors—from Brad Behn and Brandon Chambers to the Flesher-Hinton Music Company, Mark Sloss Professional Wind Instrument Consultants and Vandoren | Dansr.

Lastly, Silver highlighted another important category of attendees: “Audiences who just want to hear good music.”

We thank all participating staff, faculty, and guest artists and teachers; and we thank the Roser Visiting Artists Program, the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Center for Humanities & the Arts and Conn-Selmer for their support of Colorado Clarinet Day.

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For Melda Turunçoğlu, music is more than its ingredients.

Turunçoğlu—who graduates this month with a master’s in guitar performance from the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” College of Music—finds a value that goes deeper than melody, harmony and tempo when she plays classical guitar. Originally from Turkey, Turunçoğlu draws on music as an essential tool to make connections in a new country and a new culture.

“English is my second language. It’s difficult to try to connect with people in a different language,” she explains. “When I first came to the U.S., I was uncomfortable talking to people—I felt I couldn’t explain myself well. But I found a connection through music. It’s not only melody, or rhythm—you’re connecting with people.”

Turunçoğlu speaks candidly and earnestly about the odyssey that brought her from her native Turkey to a two-year stint in Italy (where she attended an early music school in Venice and studied with lutenist Massimo Lonardi for a year), then back to Istanbul and finally to her current home in șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”.

Though she communicates in English with ease and grace, approaching a new language, culture and pace of life in șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” wasn’t easy. Turunçoğlu came to Colorado with her husband and young son six years ago, and found herself facing profound inner questions.

“I began to ask myself, what am I doing here? Maybe I was regretful about coming here. Everything is very different,” Turunçoğlu recalls, adding that she realized she missed being a musician and a performer. That self-examination ultimately led her to contact Associate Professor of Guitar NicolĂČ Spera. “I played guitar for him and he encouraged me a lot to apply for a master’s at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”.”

That initial show of support from Spera ultimately offered a path toward connection, purpose and fulfillment as Turunçoğlu set about honing her craft and finding ways to communicate creatively on a universal level—an approach that aligns with the College of Music’s commitment to developing broadly-based, multifaceted universal musicians.

She expanded her network among faculty and fellow students alike, continuing to work with Spera and connecting with recently retired Professor of Harpsichord Robert Hill, who worked with Turunçoğlu on Baroque music and included her in showcases. The chance to play for audiences, to create that immediate bond with listeners, proved to be an important step in Turunçoğlu’s evolution as an artist.

“Hill encouraged me to play solo in his ensemble showcases even though I was feeling insecure after so many years without performing for people. He told me, you have to share your music. You are here for this,” she says. “So I played. I played many times for his ensemble showcases during the past two years—as well as in smaller spaces such as a retirement community, a coffee shop and even my son’s school. There was an earthquake in Turkey last year and I played for a fundraiser. It was an amazing feeling to help people in need with my music.”

All of these opportunities helped Turunçoğlu grow and advance, including the chance to study the music of the Renaissance, and the Baroque and Romantic eras; occasions to share her art with audiences; and access to a higher grade of instrument built by luthier John Weissenrieder.

“John’s family gave some of his guitars to the College of Music’s guitar studio and NicolĂČ gave me one of them for two years. I owe a lot to this guitar,” she says. “I met with John’s parents. They came to all of my recitals. We hugged and cried and it felt so nice to connect with them. They’re like a family now.”

At CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”, Turunçoğlu has grown as an artist, a musician and as a part of our community. And she’s intent on continuing the journey—teaching, performing and learning. Turunçoğlu has been accepted to the College of Music’s Artist Diploma program and will begin studies next fall.

In the meantime, she’ll continue to draw on her music to find new ways to communicate and connect to a community that’s come to feel more like home.

“I didn’t perform for almost 10 years. I began again, and I feel like now I’ve found a connection with people. That’s precious for me and I don’t want to lose it,” she says. “People here—they care about your gift. They see a special thing. You are making music, they share their feelings afterward—and it’s great.”

The șù«ÍȚÊÓƔ’s winter 2024 degree conferral is Dec. 19. To all our extraordinary graduates, CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to the Forever Buffs family—we hope you’ll join us for our spring 2025 recognition ceremony!

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Photo credit: Hao Zhou

A complaint about high frequencies would prove fateful for Clarrisse Bosman and her future path as a musician and educator.

Bosman, who will graduate from CU șù«ÍȚÊÓƔ’s College of Music this winter with bachelor’s degrees in both bassoon performance and instrumental music education, recalls the moment that led her to the largest instrument in any typical orchestra.

“I started playing music on the flute. I was practicing one day, and my mother couldn’t stand the high register,” says Bosman, adding that she was asked to find some other musical means to express herself. She obliged, opting for an instrument at the other end of the register in terms of pitch and size. “I said, ‘Okay, I’ll pick the largest instrument that I can get my hands on.”

Bosman, who’s apt to chuckle as she points out that she’s a 5-foot-2 musician playing an instrument that normally measures about 4-foot-5, quickly made an immediate and profound connection to the bassoon—one that helped steer her course through Cherry Creek High School in Englewood and then at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”.

“I fell in love with it. It’s so unique. It literally stands out among the orchestra,” Bosman continues. “I knew that I wanted to pursue music and especially music education. I’ve always had a passion for music education and teaching people.”

The decision to build on the musical foundations she built in high school at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” boiled down largely to faculty, she says. When it came to finding a mentor that could offer her direction—both in terms of her own performance and her ability to inspire others—she found a perfect fit in Yoshiyuki Ishikawa, professor of bassoon.

“For me, music and where I chose to study depended on the professor,” she reiterates. “CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” has set me up for success in the teaching world. I’m grateful to have had such great mentors in the College of Music.”

Specifically, our program offered Bosman the chance to come into her own as a soloist, even as it provided opportunities to build real-world teaching experiences in classrooms across the Denver metro area, including a stint at Campus Middle School, literally next door to her former high school. Along with student teaching and practicums at Sunset Middle School, Horizon High School and other institutions, these experiences helped Bosman develop her own teaching style.

“I have a diverse teaching portfolio—I’ve taught concert band, jazz band and orchestra as well as mariachi ensemble. Usually students choose to only student teach in one area, but it’s been fun to have the opportunity to specialize in different areas,” she says. “Nothing prepares you like putting it into practice. CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” provides rigorous challenges and puts us into actual classrooms.”

Bosman developed her teaching experience as she found opportunities to perform for audiences. One of her most memorable concerts came in the midst of a crisis, she says.

“My apartment caught on fire the night before my senior recital,” she remembers, crediting CU șù«ÍȚÊÓƔ’s Basic Needs Center for providing assistance in the face of the emergency. “I grabbed my concert heels, my dress and a few belongings and woke up the next day like nothing happened. I had to put on my senior recital. It’s the concert that stands out the most,” she adds, noting that her bassoon was safe in her locker at school and that the performance ultimately turned out successful.

Bosman, who balanced several different interests and passions in high school, found the same equilibrium at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”. Even as she honed her skills as a musician and teacher, she continued pursuing other interests and passions—for example, she served as the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Ice Skating Club president, coached members of the Ice Skating Club and participated in several on-campus programs. She notes that CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” provides incredible opportunities and support programs, especially through the Center for Inclusion and Social Change which was instrumental as a first-generation student being the first in her family to graduate college.

Bosman dedicated herself to finding a well-rounded existence at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓƔ—just as she pursued dual degrees that align with the college’s universal musician approach which aims to develop multiskilled artists who are equipped to make a difference in our world as broadly-based professionals.

That dynamic will remain with Bosman as she preps for her next steps. She knows she loves teaching, particularly at the middle school level; and she knows no matter where she travels, her passion for music and teaching will follow.

“I have plans to be a substitute teacher for music until more full-time positions open up and I’m exploring coaching opportunities in the figure skating world,” she notes. “I’m also a traveling spirit and I would be open to something a little more tropical if it ever arises. (But) I do keep music at my heart.”

The șù«ÍȚÊÓƔ’s winter 2024 degree conferral is Dec. 19. To all our inspiring, accomplished graduates, CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to the Forever Buffs family—we hope you’ll join us for our spring 2025 recognition ceremony!

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NASM celebrates 100 years
Last month, Dean John Davis attended the annual meeting—and centennial celebration—of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) in Chicago, Illinois. This organization of schools, conservatories, colleges and universities establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as other credentials for music and music-related disciplines. Our college has been a member since 1941.

Dear friends,

As we approach our much-anticipated annual Holiday Festival performances this weekend, I’m filled with awe and gratitude as I reflect on a busy, successful fall semester at the CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” College of Music—including continued progress in developing multiskilled, multifaceted universal musicians.

Our commitment to both refining and expanding our offerings has never felt more relevant—and more urgent; our faculty members, advisors and other staff are highly motivated to ensure that our students not only master their chosen craft, but also emerge as well-rounded, adaptable professionals prepared to take on the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Having represented our College of Music at several conferences this fall—including, among others, the annual conferences of the College Music Society and National Association of Music Executives at State Universities, the National Association of Schools of Music annual meeting, and the annual conference of the International Council for Arts Deans in Montreal, Canada—I was heartened to observe that our work at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” reflects real-world trends and mandates in music education. Colleges and schools like ours are similarly focused on widening students’ horizons, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and emphasizing broadly-based skills. I’m proud that our approach amplifies current best practices at comparable institutions, nationally and internationally.

We’re also aware that the landscape of higher education is shifting and that we must be vigilant, agile and proactive. In the new year, changes to federal policies may impact how we accomplish—and communicate—our work; what Ÿ±ČőČÔ’t changing, however, is our commitment to support our students with the resources, knowledge, experiences and inspirations they need to succeed and thrive in their chosen ventures—and in life. To that end, we continue to deepen our relationships with campus partners including Chancellor Justin Schwartz, who champions our efforts. The new CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” chancellor has encouraged our campus community to embody courage, curiosity, care and consistency as we engage with one another, prioritize free expression and pursue creative ideas. His vision aligns with our values and I’m optimistic that the College of Music—along with all arts and humanities units on campus—will prosper under his leadership, and sustain our current momentum in student recruitment and retention.

By reimagining our offerings to include more diverse disciplines and perspectives, we’re implementing a richer, more holistic educational experience for our students that ignites their explorations across wide-ranging fields of interest—while nurturing their capacity to engage meaningfully, compassionately and confidently with the summons of our time.

From our dedicated community of supporters to our versatile students to our forward-looking faculty and staff, I’m immensely proud of what we’ve already achieved together. In the new year, stay tuned for announcements of our most recent programmatic and curricular developments that meet the moment—including a new BA degree emphasis.

Meanwhile, I wish you peaceful, joyful holidays!

John Davis
Dean, College of Music

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We are thrilled to announce the winner of the 2024-25 Bruce Ekstrand Memorial Graduate Student Performance Competition: The Koa String Quartet!

The College of Music’s current graduate string quartet in residence—comprising violinists Kisa Uradomo and Leah Pernick, violist Thomas Chafe and cellist Heewon Lee—studies with the TakĂĄcs Quartet. On Nov. 19, the Koa Quartet performed selections from works by Joseph Haydn and Kevin Lau, and was awarded $2,000 for their Ekstrand win.

“We are so happy to have started our residency at CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” on such a positive note! It was an incredible opportunity to perform onstage alongside so many of our talented peers,” Pernick says. “Thank you so much to the TakĂĄcs Quartet and string faculty for their mentorship, and to the Ekstrand family for their generous support of students.”

Lee shares, “Our main goal of the performance was to have fun and keep up the good energy. I think us dancing backstage helped with that. But in all seriousness, we’re super thankful for the win!”

Second prize ($1,000) went to saxophonist Joel Ferst, who also won the audience favorite prize ($250). This year’s other Ekstrand finalists ($500 each) include pianist John-Austin King, baritone Andrew Konopak and violinist Laura PĂ©rez Rangel.

This year’s esteemed panel of judges were Jason Bergman—Associate Professor of Trumpet, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music; Courtney Hershey Bress—Principal Harpist, Colorado Symphony; Adjunct Professor of Harp, University of Denver Lamont School of Music; and Lecturer of Harp, University of Wyoming; and Cameron Stowe—Chair, Collaborative Piano, New England Conservatory; Director, Collaborative Piano, Aspen Music Festival and School.

The Ekstrand Competition was launched by previous College of Music dean Robert Fink, and later renamed to honor the late Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and psychology professor Bruce Ekstrand. The competition invites top graduate students to compete for cash prizes for professional development. This year’s faculty judges for the  semi-final competition were Renee Gilliland, Jeremy Reger and Branden Steinmetz.

Semi-finalists included:

• Voice: Sidney Grimm, soprano; Andrew Konopak, baritone; James Robinson, baritone
• Piano: John-Austin King, Luca Pompilio
• Strings: Julian Bennett, cello; Koa String Quartet; Laura PĂ©rez Rangel, violin
• Woodwinds: Joel Ferst, saxophone; Dylan King, saxophone; Harold Gomez-Montoya, clarinet
• Brass + percussion: Mark Bennett, trombone; Sydney Hoehl, trumpet; Connor Johnson, trumpet

Congratulations to the Koa String Quartet and all participants in this year’s competition, as well as their teachers—the TakĂĄcs Quartet, Andrew Cooperstock, Andrew Garland and Nathan Mertens in the final round. Our special thanks also to collaborative pianists Runze Li, Hsiao-Ling Lin, Matthew Sebald—and all other pianists, mentors and teachers involved in the previous rounds of this competition.

Partially funded by the , this annual event is the premier performance competition for the College of Music’s most outstanding graduate students.

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With support from a $15K CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA) grant, the Chicago-based returned to the College of Music earlier this month as guest artists in our Faculty Tuesdays series and SoundWorks series.

“The composition department has been bringing ~Nois to campus for the last six or seven years,” says Carter Pann, chair of the composition department. “This is the first year that two studios hosted the quartet—composition and saxophone. The plan was for ~Nois to work with our student and faculty composers, and with students in [Assistant Professor of Saxophone] Nathan Mertens' saxophone studio.”

Indeed, the five-day residency was packed—in addition to Faculty Tuesdays and SoundWorks concerts, ~Nois also presented a master class, a guest lecture in the Department of Theatre & Dance and more. College of Music students had the opportunity to rehearse with members of the quartet, ask questions, and get feedback on performances and compositions.

CHA grants support projects that amplify the arts and humanities, and create community around campus. The College of Music's composition and saxophone departments were awarded more than they applied for, allowing for an extra house concert in a donor’s home.

“I believe that the application meets all criteria and that it is far ranging,” wrote CHA Director Jennifer Ho. “This is one reason I’ve increased the award—so that you may be able to think even more capaciously in creating programs that will involve multiple community members within the College of Music and across campus.”

The College of Music’s relationship with the quartet began with Pann’s musical connection with a family member of one of the musicians. “One of the ~Nois members, Jordan Lulloff, is the son of a very good friend of mine whom I have written lots of saxophone music for,” shares Pann. “A lightbulb went off and I realized that Jordan was in this new quartet of Northwestern University grads.

“It’s really useful and it’s a great opportunity for young composers to write for saxophone quartet. It’s a very enterprising endeavor because saxophonists in general clamor for new music.”

Through the years, ~Nois has become familiar on campus, and created even more and deeper connections. “They’re just game when they’re here,” adds Pann. “They end up seeing donors, seeing the dean, working with students, coming to classes
”

Pann hopes the residency inspired creativity among our students. “When students work closely with them, the ~Nois boys are so professional. They don’t skimp on anything. They will crash open the door to rehearse more with these students. They’re constantly teaching them what their instruments can do.

“These guys increase the learning horizon tenfold. When you see somebody that’s kind of close to your age breaking into this professional realm—it’s really inspiring to our students.”

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Rohwer comes to the College of Music from Edwards, Colorado, to pursue an undergraduate degree in double bass performance studying with Associate Professor of Double Bass Susan Cahill. “She’s absolutely wonderful,” Rohwer says. “I had the opportunity to take a couple lessons with her over the summer and her approach to teaching is through a fresh lens.”

At CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ”, Rohwer hopes to explore different musical ensembles, genres and styles to find his own niche. “Developing my own musical opinions and character are really something that I want to find here,” he says.

Rohwer first learned about the scholarship through an email inviting him to an additional audition. He had just a few weeks to prepare and utilized an unusual tactic: “I had figured out that one of the most helpful things for me was to play in different locations throughout my house and throughout my town instead of just in my room,” he says. 

“You can hear different things. I practiced in my living room and then I practiced in a closet and then I practiced outside.”

The traveling practice paid off and Rohwer was offered the four-year, full-ride scholarship funded by John and Anna Sie.

“You couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for a week, I was really happy to hear that I would be able to go here and that I was so wanted.”

Rohwer is also part of the Music Buffs Living Learning Community—a program that brings together music loving students to collaborate and create. “It’s so exciting to be a part of this community because everyone I meet is eager to do exactly what I want to do, which is jam out with people my age who have different ideas about music,” he says.

Additionally, Rohwer wants to develop another passion of his: Space.

“I’ve always been fascinated with astrophysics and space,” he says. “I think music and astrophysics relate because they both have to do with exploring—with music, there’s such an infinite space ahead of you where you can explore how everything sounds.” 

He adds, “When you’re playing music, it brings you to a space that’s so separate from time, stress or any of the other happenings of daily life. The same feeling that I get in that musical space is what I experience when I think about exploring deep space because it’s so far out and separate from everything else 
 and always brand new.” 

Rohwer joins these current Sher Distinguished Musician Scholarship recipients: 
2023: Nate Bonin (horn) and Danny Kaminski (jazz bass); 
2022: Jude Dow-Hygelund (piano) and Cian Kreuger (jazz sax); and 
2021: Anna Kallinikos (trumpet) and Raven Dow-Hygelund (classical guitar).

Our gratitude to the 2024 Sher Distinguished Musician Scholarship selection committee comprising faculty members Gary Lewis, Matthew Roeder and Elizabeth Swanson. “I’m excited that we’ve added another very talented musician as part of our incoming class of first-year Music Buffs!” says Roeder.

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“The length of alternative keyboards is the same as standard keyboards, only the width of each key is very slightly smaller,” Terrill says. The CU șù«ÍȚÊÓÆ” College of Music has had such a keyboard on loan from the since April 2023, featuring a six-inch octave instead of the standard six-and-a-half-inch octave.

“The reason I got interested was because I have tendonitis and I noticed a bunch of my female pianist friends were also getting tendonitis. I’ve had friends who have had to quit because they got some kind of severe playing-related injury,” Terrill says.

can help pianists avoid injuries sustained from over-reaching and enable individuals with smaller hands to play some repertoire that is physically impossible for them to perform on standard-size pianos. 

“Keyboards are made to a standard size and the human hand is not a standard size,” says Jennifer Hayghe, associate professor of piano and chair of the Roser Piano + Keyboard Program at the College of Music. “In my 25 years as a professor, I have seen the number of students with injuries rise exponentially. I spend a lot of my time working with students trying to reduce their stress and tension and work through the injuries they’ve accrued. I do believe that if we had smaller keyboards as a standard thing, that would not be an issue.”

The piece loaned to the College of Music is a piano action—that is, the keyboard and the mechanism that causes hammers to strike the strings when keys are pressed. This action can technically fit onto any piano, though some fittings are more difficult than others. Mark Mikkelson and Phil Taylor, both piano technicians at the College of Music, say they put in 50 to 60 hours of work fitting the alternative keyboard into a Steinway piano.

“The problem in making these keyboards for Steinway instruments is that Steinways are entirely handmade, which means they’re not all exactly the same,” Hayghe explains. “So when alternative keyboards are made as close as possible to a ‘standard’ Steinway size, all these little adjustments are necessary. It took a long time and a lot of adjusting to get that keyboard used to that piano.” 

As part of her master’s thesis, Terrill discovered that attitudes around alternative keyboards are often of disdain. “I was really frustrated when I first started this research because I was telling people how unfair it was to not have smaller keyboards available to students—and the reaction I heard most was people saying ‘you don’t need that, you just need to fix your technique.’ So my response was, if I can show numbers to people who don’t want to bother with having to switch sizes, that may be more convincing.”

Terrill’s thesis project involved 15 pianists playing a musical excerpt on a standard piano, and then on a narrow keyboard. She measured their errors when initially playing on the alternative keyboard and after 10 minutes of practice. 

“We found that everyone by the end—transitioning from the standard size to the second try on the narrow keyboard—had fewer errors than on the first try,” Terrill says. “Most of them said ‘I wish I could practice more on it.’”

Since graduating this spring, Terrill has been teaching piano lessons—another instance when narrow keyboards would be helpful. “Most instruments have smaller versions for when you’re learning as a kid, but not the piano,” she notes.

“I really see this as an equality issue. I’m looking for movement from people. I want to push for more research and for people to have conversations about it—I think even arguments will help.”

Related:
(NPR)

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It was a long time coming. 

Piano Technician Mark Mikkelsen—who, for more than eight years, has supported the care and maintenance of the College of Music’s fleet of 160 pianos, two harpsichords and an organ—was thrilled when the opportunity arose to rebuild, refurbish and restore one of two fortepianos donated to our college by the late Douglas Taylor and his wife, Avlona, as an in-kind gift in 2019. 

The two fortepianos—one is a replica after Conrad Graf 1828 by Robert Smith, ca. 1982; the other is a replica after J. A. Stein by Richard Kingston, ca. 1982—are a tremendous boon for our college. Five years following their donation, the refurbished Smith fortepiano was performed on for the first time on April 8 by Wes Leffingwell, a doctoral student of Professor of Harpsichord Robert Hill.

Since the instrument’s donation, Mikkelsen—whose overall responsibilities include tuning, voicing, regulation, rebuilding and repair—researched the Smith fortepiano and embarked on a years-long restoration project in service to our students and faculty. 

“The more I learned about the fortepiano from various sources—its history, how it was made, how it was shipped—the more I understood the instrument which inspired my problem solving,” says Mikkelsen, who was trained in piano technology at the nationally renowned North Bennet Street School in Boston, Massachusetts.

Adds Operations Manager and Head Piano Technician Ted Mulcahey, “When the Smith fortepiano arrived, it was not in playable condition. After about 120 hours of creative work—including inventing or sourcing missing parts, strings, tools and more—Mark turned it into a beautiful working instrument.”

“It was like working on a ship in a bottle,” continues Mikkelsen, who grew up playing piano. “I really enjoyed the historical and problem-solving aspects of this project 
 and the positive reactions of the Taylor family, Wes and our faculty really made the effort worthwhile.”

Mikkelsen’s connection to the Taylor family extends beyond this project and our College of Music. Over the years, he’s worked on Avlona Taylor’s harpsichord and he’s started tutoring her daughter, Karen, in the art of tuning.

Photos below: Members of the Taylor family with Leffingwell, Mulcahey, Mikkelsen, Piano Technician Phil Taylor, Professor of Piano Andrew Cooperstock—with whom Leffingwell studied as a master’s student—and friends. A new plaque adorns the newly playable fortepiano, a replica after Conrad Graf 1828 by Robert Smith, ca. 1982: “This fortepiano was generously donated by Douglas and Avlona Taylor.”​ 

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