The History

This project was created in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2014. It was inspired by music education programs with social emphasis such as El Sistema, the National Network of Youth and Children Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela, the choral program "Building through Singing" of the Schola Cantorum of Venezuela Foundation, as well as my own work at the Escuela de Musica Mozarteum Caracas and Colegio Emil Friedman. I started it as part of my final research of my first master’s degree of music. I wanted to give young pianists the opportunity to play together from early stages like other musicians do in orchestras, bands, and choirs. I wrote 3 piano ensemble arrangements of orchestral master pieces, each piano part representing a group of instruments (strings, winds, brass)and at the same time, organizing them by level of difficulty.  We launched the first piano ensembles experience with the piano studios of the Mozarteum Caracas School of Music. The results were outstanding, and Piano Ensembles became a program at the school. I continued making more arrangements as more students were involved. In 2016, we made a documentary of the project, which included testimonials of teachers, parents, and students, as well as extracts of a concert at the Teresa Carreño Theater, one of the most important venues in South America. The documentary was presented on National TV and is currently available on YouTube and Vimeo.

In 2017, I moved to the United States to continue studies with Dr. Christopher Fisher at Ohio University in Athens, OH. Dr. Fisher's book, Teaching Piano in Groups, was important inspiration to develop the teaching philosophy of the project. I have been working on Piano Ensembles in Athens, OH, with the Ohio University Collegiate Chapter of Music Teachers National Association and the Athens Community Music School. Their interest and involvement with the project made it main activity of the chapter for the academic year 2017-2018.  During this time, the OU MTNA Chapter won first prize of poster presentation at the OMTA Fall Conference (Van Wert, OH), gave a conference at MTNA Collegiate Chapters Piano Pedagogy Symposium (Austin, TX), presented other posters at the MTNA National Conference (Orlando, FL), and  the Ohio Piano Pedagogy Seminar (Athens, OH). The Piano Ensembles Project became a regular program offered at the Athens Community School of Music. Concerts are presented with the collaboration of the OU Percussion Ensemble and members of the OU MTNA Collegiate Chapter.

This type of piano group approach is oriented to performance goals. In the process, students are motivated and engaged with piano while growing both musically and socially. It is also a training opportunity for piano teachers who desire to experience the power of making music in groups.
 Benefits for students 
  • Apply and reinforce musical concepts
  • Improve rhythmic skills
  • Critical listening
  • Conducting skills
  • Sight-reading 
  • Artistic interpretation 
  • Collaboration and solidarity in a team atmosphere 
  • Opportunity to gain trust and self-confidence 
  • Stimulate social interaction 
  • Support on motivation and engagement with the instrument, the repertoire and the group. 
Training for piano teachers 
  • Piano group experience based on discovery learning and cooperative learning. 
  • Piano teachers practice open score reading and conducting rehearsals and concerts. 
  • Collaboration in partner lessons and assistance at group sessions. 
  • Working in a professional piano team, developing organizational/managing skills
Conferences 
  • LAMI (Latin American Initiative) Festival, July 28-31, 2021. Virtual.
  • NCKP The Piano Conference July 13-31, 2021. Virtual.
  • NCKP National Conference July 24-27, 2019. Keyboard Lab Session. Westin-Lombard Hotel, Lombard IL
  • Ohio Piano Pedagogy Seminar June 22-23, 2018. Poster Presentation. Ohio University, Athens, OH.
  • MTNA National Conference March 17-21, 2018 Poster Presentation. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. Orlando, FL. 
  • MTNA Collegiate Chapters Piano Pedagogy Symposium January 12-13, 2018 Conference “Piano Ensembles Project”. University of Texas, Butler School of Music. Austin, TX. 
  • OMTA Fall Conference October 12-14, 2017 Poster Presentation. First Prize. Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Van Wert, OH.
  • Jornadas 60 años Escuela de Psicologia, Universidad Central de Venezuela November 08-16, 2016 "Piano Ensembles: Una propuesta innovadora para la enseñanza del piano en niños y jóvenes". Conference. Caracas, Venezuela.
Athens Community School of Music
https://www.athenscommunitymusic.org/