Albums for the Young (and Young at Heart)
A Musical Repertoire
For centuries composers have written collections titled “Album for the Young,” “Music for Children,” or “Children’s Pieces” for the early to late-intermediate piano student. Some of these collections are well-known and still popular in performance today; others are more “off the beaten path” but every bit as well-written and imaginative, and will engage younger and older students alike. Teachers seeking effective music for performances and auditions, as well as repertoire that prepares students for larger masterworks, will enjoy exploring this diverse collection of 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st century works by Beach, Previn, Casella, and others.
Speaker: Grace Huang, NCTM, Assis. Prof of Piano, UGA
Grace Huang is Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy and Class Piano Coordinator at the University of Georgia where she teaches undergraduate and graduate pedagogy courses, class piano, and oversees all aspects of the class piano program. Additionally, she owns and operates an independent piano studio in Athens.
Prior to her UGA appointment, Dr. Huang was on the piano faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she maintained a studio in the CIM Preparatory division and served as Head of Secondary Piano in the Conservatory division, overseeing the class piano program. She was also on the piano faculties of Millikin University (IL) and St. Cloud State University (MN), as well as summer music programs such as UGA Summer Music Camp and Institute, Summer Sonata (CIM), Illinois Summer Youth Music (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
Praised for her “lovely and vivacious” playing (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), she has performed throughout the U.S. and abroad as soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist. Recent performances were in Tampa, Cleveland, Charleston, Taiwan, and Austria.
In demand as a teacher, her students have received local, state, and regional honors. She is an active member of MTNA, having held multiple leadership roles and regularly serving as adjudicator and clinician. She has presented and performed at the National Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Forum and state conferences for Texas, Illinois, and Georgia Music Teachers Associations, among others.
Dr. Huang holds degrees in piano performance from the University of Minnesota (MM and DMA) and Vanderbilt University (BM). Former teachers include Lydia Artymiw, Craig Nies, Roland Schneller, and Sue Hudson; pedagogy studies were with Rebecca Shockley, Karen Ann Krieger, and Elizabeth Cormier. She is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music.
