Keyboard

Degrees for pianists

Murray State University offers a wide variety of academic and performance opportunities for aspiring pianists, and prides itself at being able to do so at a very affordable tuition. Students may seek undergraduate degrees in the following areas: performance, education (Bachelor of Music), and an emphasis in music (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science). A minor in music, with an emphasis in piano, is also available to students. Piano majors and concentrations are afforded additional courses in collaborative piano, piano pedagogy, piano literature, organ, and harpsichord.

Video: Piano students perform at the 2015 Fall Fanfare concert. Visit our YouTube channel for more videos.

 

Our keyboard faculty has extensive performance experience in the United States and abroad, both as soloists and collaborators, as well as vast teaching experience in the applied lesson, in the classroom, and in master classes across the country. Students who study piano at Murray State are held to high standards of hard work and musicianship, but within a very nurturing and supportive environment of enthusiastic and like-minded peers. With over 100 concerts each academic year, the solo and collaborative performance opportunities for our undergraduates are endless. Additionally, student chapters of Sigma Alpha Iota, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and the National Association for Music Educators are active in the Music Department.

Murray State’s fine arts buildings offer some of the finest music facilities in the region. Our Performing Arts Hall features two Steinway concert grand pianos, a 5-rank Wicks pipe organ, and a digital organ. Farrell Recital Hall is home to a 32-rank Casavant pipe organ and a Steinway B. Our Clavinova Keyboard Lab prepares all music students in functional keyboard skills; composition courses are offered in the Music Synthesis and Sequencing Lab; and theory and aural skills are developed in the Computer-Assisted Instruction Lab. Seven of our more than thirty practice rooms are dedicated specifically for use by Murray State piano majors, and we employ a full-time piano technician to service the pianos in the Music Department.

Schedule a campus visit

We also welcome and encourage prospective students to contact the Music Department Office, or the keyboard faculty, in order to schedule a complimentary lesson, and/or to audit lessons and studio classes.