Studios
Piano Studio
At UCF, studios are where you study with your private teacher for lessons and masterclasses on your specific instrument. It is also where music majors form a community with others studying the same instrument in an environment that encourages learning from and performing with each other. All music majors study with our world-renowned UCF faculty members with weekly lessons and studio masterclasses.
Students in the piano studio study directly with faculty member, Yun-Ling Hsu. What sets UCF apart from most other university-level programs is that lessons are taught by faculty and not graduate students. Hsu specializes in teaching injury-preventative technique, health and wellness on piano practicing as well as teaching natural body movements that are efficient and reduce the risk of injury.
Piano studio students have many performance opportunities including performance classes, on and off campus concerts, participation in guest artists master classes, local, regional and national competitions, teachers’ conferences and performance events. Each student’s unique interests, goals and learning styles are taken into consideration to create an individualized plan.
Click here to learn about studying piano in the Jazz Studio.
Studying Piano
Piano students will graduate with a solid piano technical foundation and through piano performance, be able to express themselves individually and artistically. They will also know how to evaluate and solve problems on their own and how to think for themselves. Students will also be familiar standard and new classical piano repertoire in solo, collaborative piano and piano ensemble and will be sight-read proficient at the keyboard to be able to learn new piano material quickly.
About Yun-Ling Hsu's Piano Studio
Hsu works to create a friendly and supportive environment that encourages students to find team spirit among their peers. She is a passionate piano educator who is inspired by her experience growing up in Taiwan to bring cultural diversity to her studio. It is her goal to work across cultures and build bridges in the community through piano. It is important to Hsu that students should have the opportunity to learn regardless of socio-economic, cultural or ethnic background and strives to provide an environment where students will learn to play at a high level while feeling comfortable being themselves.
What our Graduates are Doing
Several B.M. piano alumni have already completed or going to pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees in prestigious programs such as Universities of Denver, Hartford (Hartt), George Mason, Colorado Boulder, The Catholic University of America and more.
One B.M. piano graduate was named 2017-18 Fulbright Scholar and awarded a scholarship to study a master’s degree in Munich, Germany.
Many alumni are working as accomplished performers and pianists, college piano instructors, private piano teachers, public/private school music educators and church music directors in the metropolitan area of New York City, New Jersey, Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois and Florida.
Multiple former & current students won state piano competitions, UCF concerto competition, UCF Performance Excellence Award, performed in state/national conferences and performed in prestigious international music festivals and venues including Saarburg Festival (Germany), Vianden Festival (Luxembourg) and Sala Ignacio Cervantes Concert Hall (Cuba).
Degree Programs to Study Piano
Bachelor of Music, Performance Track – Piano Performance
Bachelor of Music Education – emphasis in Piano
Bachelor of Arts – Secondary Piano
Master of Arts with an emphasis in Piano Performance, Pedagogy and Collaborative Piano
News
Music Scholarships Awarded to 11 Students
April 16, 2020 11 music students have been awarded scholarships to recognize their academic achievements, musical ability and contributions to the UCF School of Performing Arts.
Piano student Derek Alexander wins at FSMTA state competition
June 05, 2019 UCF sophomore Derek Alexander from the Piano Studio won second prize for the 2019 Florida State Music Teacher Association’s Competitive Event in solo piano.
Piano professor Yun-Ling Hsu invited abroad for judging and masterclasses
January 14, 2019 Professor Yun-Ling Hsu (DMA) was honored to be invited as a judge for the “2018 American Classical Pianist International Piano Competition,” a masterclass teacher, and an attendee in Sino-American Piano Education Symposium in Guangzhou, China.
Alumni Highlights
Corin Staves ’17
B.M., Music Performance | Piano
2018-19 Fulbright Scholar
James Rode ’04
B.A., Music | Piano (Classical)
Choral/Vocal Director at Celebration High School; Company Member, Florida Opera Theatre
Joe Gennaro ’95
B.A., Music | Piano (Classical)
Ph.D, Musicology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Faculty, UCF
Marius Tesch ’12
B.M., Music Performance | Piano (Classical)
Faculty, Orlando Music Institute
Stephanie (Smeltzer) Poxon ’95
BME | Piano (Classical)
Director for the Center for the Arts, Richmond, VA
Tiffany (Ashton) Drenth ’02 ’04
B.M., Composition; B.A., Music | Piano
Teacher, Oklahoma City University
