Crane School of Music to Host 2016 Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference on Sept. 17

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The poster for the 2016 Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference can be seen here. The day-long conference will be offered on Saturday, Sept. 17.

POTSDAM, NY (08/29/2016)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music is proud to welcome piano teachers for an exciting day of free workshops focusing on teaching elementary and intermediate piano students through the 2016 Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference, to be held on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The conference will feature clinician Dr. Julie Knerr, co-author of the Piano Safari piano method, as well as Dr. Young-Ah Tak, the newest piano faculty member at The Crane School of Music.

This year's Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference will highlight an array of educational strategies for piano teachers of pre-college students.

The Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference is open to all piano teachers at no charge, and will take place throughout the day on Saturday, Sept. 17. All events will take place at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music and in the Performing Arts Center.

The featured clinician, Dr. Julie Knerr, a piano pedagogue and co-author of the Piano Safari method, will present a workshop focusing on the benefits of pairing rote teaching with a strong reading program. She will also explore strategies for effective and efficient teaching, and share ideas for games and teaching aids for piano study. All workshops will be offered in a fitting location, as Crane is the only All-Steinway School within SUNY.

Knerr teaches piano at her home in Connecticut. Previously, she taught piano, piano pedagogy and group piano at the University of Missouri, Oklahoma City University, Ohio University and the Hartt Community Music School. Her piano method, Piano Safari, is an innovative approach that combines intervallic reading with rote teaching. Knerr holds a Ph.D. in music education, with an emphasis in piano pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma, where her dissertation on elementary level piano technique was nominated for the Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award in 2006.

The conference's featured performer, Dr. Young-Ah Tak, will present a recital in the Proscenium Theater in SUNY Potsdam's Performing Arts Center. Her performance will include works by Beethoven, Debussy and Liszt. Tak has been praised for her "winning combination of passion, imagination, and integrity" (New York Concert Review) and her "thrilling blend of fury and finesse" (San Antonio Express-News). Trained at The Julliard School, the New England Conservatory of Music and the Peabody Institute, she has performed at major venues all over the world.

For more information about the Crane Piano Pedagogy Conference or about piano pedagogy study at Crane, please visit the website at www.cranepianopedagogy.org.

For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music, please visit www.potsdam.edu/crane.

Founded in 1886, SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music has a long legacy of excellence in music education and performance. Life at Crane includes an incredible array of more than 300 recitals, lectures and concerts presented by faculty, students and guests each year. The Crane School of Music is the State University of New York's only All-Steinway institution.

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