Piano

Our renowned international faculty is committed to preparing students for a professional career in performance, both solo and collaborative. Our students consistently excel as winners in international and national competitions and are regularly accepted into the world’s finest graduate institutions and summer music festivals.

Because of our strong faculty, a rigorous musical education, plentiful performance opportunities, and the state-of-the-art facility of the SMU Meadows School of the Arts, students will have abundant opportunities and the personal attention needed to develop their gifts. The SMU piano department has received substantial gifts for the purchase and maintenance of pianos, ensuring that our piano majors have plentiful practice time on the finest grand pianos. For the student pianist with smaller hands, SMU is one of only a handful of universities in the nation that offers the opportunity to study, perform, and teach on keyboards with narrower keys fitted into Steinway pianos (using DS standard sizes).

At SMU, students will encounter a rich musical experience on a beautiful campus within close proximity to the downtown Dallas Arts District. The world class Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Dallas Chamber Music Society, Chamber Music International, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and other arts organizations all interact with SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts to create a vital cultural life for them. Our 300 music students form a close-knit community for you to engage with, learn from, and enjoy university life.

Meet Our Faculty

Sergei Babayan

Joel Estes Tate Endowed Chair in Piano and Artist in Residence

David Karp

Professor of Piano

Carol Leone

Professor of Piano, Chair of Piano Studies

Catharine Lysinger

Professor of Practice, Piano Performance and Pedagogy, Piano Preparatory Department
Coordinator of Piano Performance and Pedagogy

Andrey Ponochevny

Adjunct Artist in Residence

Kevin Gunter

Senior Lecturer, Coordinator of Class Piano, Co-Director, SMU Institute for Young Pianists

Sam Holland

Algur H. Meadows Dean and Professor of Music

Hyae-jin Hwang

Lecturer in Piano Pedagogy

Jason Smith

Senior Lecturer and Vocal Coach

Annie Lin

Adjunct Associate Professor

Wu Qian

Associate Professor in Piano Chamber Music

Graduate Degrees for Pianists

The Master of Music in Performance degree prepares students to pursue a career in performance or to undertake further studies at the doctoral level. The M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy prepares students to teach and perform or to undertake further studies at the doctoral level, positioning them to become college studio professors. The performance degree is completed in four semesters of study with a minimum of 30 credits required for graduation (36 credits required for Pedagogy). The Performer Diploma and Artist Diploma are two-year programs (20 credits) for musicians in their final stages of preparation for professional performance careers.

Meadows Young Artist Program

The Meadows Young Artist Program is a new program targeted to exceptional violin, viola, cello and piano players who are currently juniors or seniors in high school. The program is led by internationally acclaimed concert violinist, recording artist and Meadows School of the Arts faculty member Chad Hoopes, winner of the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition and member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Alumni Spotlight

Alessio Bax Winner of the 2000 Leeds International and 1997 Hamamatsu International Piano Competitions, Mr. Bax is an international performing and recording artist. A familiar face on five continents, he has appeared with more than 100 orchestras. Mr. Bax received his Artist Certificate and MM degrees from SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Lucille Chung has been a top prizewinner at the Stravinsky International Piano Competition, the Montreal International Music Competition, and the First International Franz Liszt Competition in Weimar. As a recitalist, she has performed in over 35 countries in prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall in London, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Ms. Chung received an Artist Certificate from SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Alessandro Mazzamuto is "one of the most inspiring, extraordinary pianists that I have had the joy to hear," writes Martha Argerich. Alessandro is Winner of International Classical Music Awards' Young Instrumental Artist of the Year and has won more than 60 national and international competitions in piano and chamber music. Mr. Mazzamuto received a Performer’s Diploma and Artist’s Diploma from SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Artina McCain, described as a pianist with “power and finesse,” “beautiful and fiery,” Artina McCain, has a built a three-fold career as a nationally-known performer, educator and speaker. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Piano and Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis. Dr. McCain received a Bachelor of Music from SMU Meadows School of the Arts.