Tuesday, July 03, 2018

Degree Programs: Anne Kissel on SUNY Fredonia's new Master of Music in Collaborative Piano

Today's submission from the ongoing series about degree programs in collaborative piano comes from Dr. Anne Kissel, who created the new Master of Music program in Collaborative Piano at SUNY Fredonia

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If you are looking for a small, intensive, and supportive environment for your master's level studies in collaborative piano, I invite you to take a look at the Fredonia School of Music. Nestled among the grape vineyards south of Buffalo, New York, Fredonia is a small, primarily undergraduate institution with a large and internationally recognized music program. Our collaborative piano students have the opportunity to build a diverse skill set, playing for singers, instrumentalists, large ensembles, and opera, while exploring coursework in chamber music and song literature, diction, and opera coaching. Our studio's small size enables me as your instructor to mentor the many aspects of your development. That means sometimes sitting in on rehearsals, supporting you as you learn to build strong and respectful professional relationships, carefully monitoring your workload so that you have time to practice and grow, and extra coaching when you need it, as well as the possibility of tailoring your work to encompass your specific interests. 

Our performance faculty is exceptional, and are wonderfully supportive of our student pianists. But perhaps the greatest strength of the program is the quality of our student collaborators. Our collaborative pianists partner with our very top singers and instrumentalists, many of whom have gone on to highly successful careers as performers. Fredonia has many grads who are currently living and working in NYC, and there is an active alumni network there, which is an asset when looking for freelance employment post-graduation. 

We have a small number of assistantships and scholarships to offer, which combined with our relatively low tuition, makes for a very affordable masters degree. Our degree program is relatively new, and it boasts a small (but mighty!) group of alumni who have worked/are working as freelance accompanists in NYC, Buffalo, Fredonia, and for regional opera companies nationwide, and also one holding a teaching position at a college in China. 

I'm always happy to field your questions via email, or meet with you in person if you'd like to visit our campus. Or check out the following links:

I look forward to hearing from you!


1 comment:

  1. If you are looking for an amazing teacher with a great program, SUNY Fredonia is the right choice. I was Dr.Kissel’s student and what I learned from her is astonishing! Not only collaborating/piano techniques, but also you are going to get enormous knowledge that you must know to understand your partners. Also, Fredonia has a strong, huge music program with various major. You are able to find great musicians easily for your study. I felt a bit overwhelmed sometimes because of the amount study that I had to carry on, but I feel so thankful now and I truly believe those experiences taught me professionalism as a collaborative pianist and I try to keep that mind in my heart always. I hope I can share this feeling with some of you here soon!

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