Southern Utah Piano Pedagogy Conference
2026: Saturday, February 21 @ Utah Tech University
Photo Album Conference Booklet
Morning Sessions
| 9:00 | Jared Pierce | Minute Measures: How to Boost Your Productivity in Lessons and Practice (Youtube) |
| 10:00 | Patrice Hunt | Tips and Tricks for the Teaching Trade (Youtube) |
| 11:00 | Mark Gubler | The Inner Game of Music (Youtube) |
Lunch on your own
Afternoon Sessions
| 1:00 | Caroline Jennings | Building Passion and Cultural Awareness Through Music (Youtube) |
| 2:00 | Jared Pierce | Building Technique (Youtube) |
| 3:00 | Mark Gubler | Masterclass I (Youtube) |
| 4:00 | Jared Pierce | Masterclass II (Youtube) |
Featured Presenters:
Dr. Jared Pierce and Mark Gubler
Past Conferences
Southern Utah Piano Pedagogy Conference
2025: Saturday, March 1 @ Southern Utah University
Thank you all for a fantastic 2025 conference!
Morning Sessions
| 9:00 | Yu-Jane Yang | Keynote Presentation: Building a Successful Foundation for Piano Study Right From the Start |
| 10:00 | Nancy Allred | Teaching to Transform: Inspiring the Best in Your Students |
| 10:45 | Yu-Jane Yang | Effective Practicing: Transformative Practice Strategies to Develop Confident Musicians |
| 11:30 | Caroleen Lee and Christian Bohnenstengel | The Benefits of Playing (and Learning) With Others |
Jazz @ Noon: Live performances in Thorley
Lunch on your own
Afternoon Sessions
| 1:00 | Tiffany Barnes Watts | Assessing the Whole Student From Day 1 While Capturing Their Heart |
| 2:00 | Yu-Jane Yang | Intermediate Level Masterclass (until 3:45) |
| 3:00 | Christian Bohnenstengel | Duet Derby (inspired by the session at the annual UMTA State Conference, we will be reading through and discovering as many duets as possible) |
| 4:00 | Panel | Accompanying and Accompaniment 101 |
Conference Recitals:
5:00: Collaborations (Thorley Recital Hall)
7:30: Zion Trio (Thorley Recital Hall)
Featured Presenter: Dr. Yu-Jane Yang (Weber State University)
Thank you to our presenters, panelists, teachers, students and attendees for a wonderful conference!
Morning Sessions
| 9:00 | Cahill Smith | Keynote Presentation: “Cracking the Practice Code” |
| 10:00 | Christian Bohnenstengel | Body Mapping |
| 10:45 | Break | Networking and Q&A |
| 11:00 | Cahill Smith | Expectation and Surprise in Rachmaninoff’s Preludes |
College students: lunch @ noon with UMTA
Afternoon Sessions
| 1:00 | Juliet Preston | Sight Reading Super Skills: Essential Elements that Sight Reading Books Don't Teach |
| 1:45 | Cahill Smith | Demystifying Technique: Q and A |
| 2:30 | Panel | "I have always wanted to ask a pro how to..." |
| 3:15 | Cahill Smith | Intermediate Level Masterclass |
Conference Recital: "Live at Five"
Featuring talented college and pre-college students and special performances, the recital is part of the Utah Tech All-Steinway Series.
Featured Presenter: Dr. Cahill Smith (Utah State University)
Thank you to our presenters, panelists, teachers, students and attendees for a wonderful conference!
Conference Booklet in pdf format
All presentations are available on our Youtube channel.
Morning Sessions
| 9:00 | Carmen Hall | Using Our Understanding of Music Theory To Make Performance Decisions |
| 9:45 | Jerald Simon | Innovative Improvisation - Learn How to Play the Same Song 100 Different Ways |
| 10:30 | Christian Bohnenstengel | The Healthy Pianist: Google Slides / PDF |
| 11:15 | Panel: Carmen Hall, Jerald Simon, Mark Gubler, Christian Bohnenstengel | A Grab Bag of Questions and Answers |
Afternoon Sessions
| 1:00 | Carmen Hall | Choosing Repertoire for the Beginning and Intermediate Student |
| 1:45 | Nancy Allred | Elementary to Intermediate to Advanced Piano Technique: Slides / Handout |
| 2:30 | Panel: Tracey Bradshaw, Keith Bradshaw, Tami Creamer, Nancy Allred | Careers in Music: PDF |
| 3:15 | Carmen Hall | Intermediate Level Master Class |
Conference Recital: "A Piano Extravaganza @ 5" - Program
Featuring talented college and pre-college students and special performances, the recital is part of the Utah Tech All-Steinway Series.
2022 Conference Schedule
Morning Sessions
| 9:00 | Kevin Olson | Productivity Hacks for Pianists: Getting More Done in Less Time (206) |
| 9:45 | Caroline Jennings | Understanding the brain and stress for a studio of self-driven students (206) |
| 10:30 | Nancy Allred | The Intermediate Student: Repertoire, Technique, Theory (206) |
| 11:15 | Panel (Nancy Allred, Christian Bohnenstengel, LuAnn Keate, Kevin Olson) | Careers in Music (206) |
Afternoon Sessions
| 1:00 | Christian Bohnenstengel | Discover and play easy piano ensemble music (207) |
| 1:00 | Kevin Olson |
Composition Workshop, Handout 2 (206) |
| 1:45 | Nancy Allred | Discover and play intermediate piano ensemble music (207) |
| 1:45 | Christian Bohnenstengel | Piano Maintenance (206) |
| 2:30 | Panel (Sarah Bearnson, Christian Bohnenstengel, Diane Decker, Patrice Hunt, Kathy Wells) | UMTA/NFMC/RCM/LPM - What do they do? (206) |
| 3:15 | Kevin Olson | Intermediate Level Master Class (Thorley Recital Hall) |
All day:an opportunity to play a harpsichord and a grand piano that was played and signed by Rachmaninoff
Conference Recital: Zion Trio @ 5pm
The Zion Trio performs works by Beethoven and Brahms: Paul Abegg (violin), Ka-Wai Yu (cello), Christian Bohnenstengel (piano).
The 2021 Conference will feature a series of relevant videos that will be published bi-weekly on the second and fourth Tuesdays between February and April on our youtube channel: SUPPC
February 9:
forScore and MobileSheets - An Introduction to Sheet Music Readers(Dr. Christian Bohnenstengel)
Teaching Cross Rhythms: A Step by Step Approach - Part 1 (Dr. Nancy Allred)
February 23:
Teaching Cross Rhythms: A Step-by Step Approach - Part 2 (Dr. Nancy Allred)
Teaching Cross Rhythms: A Step-by Step Approach - Part 3 (Dr. Nancy Allred)
Teaching Cross Rhythms: A Step-by Step Approach - Part 4 (Dr. Nancy Allred)
Online Teaching — Tips, Tricks (?) and Food for Thought (Dr. Christian Bohnenstengel)
March 9:
Teaching Improvisation in Piano Lessons (Dr. Christian Bohnenstengel)
March 23:
Ornamental Passages in Chopin's Piano Music (Dr. Nancy Allred)
April 6:
Conversations with a Teacher - Brandon Lee:
April 20:
Morning Sessions
| 9:00 | Nancy Allred | From Beginning to End: Tips for More Effective Practice and Performance — Handout |
| 9:45 | Mark Gubler | Inspiring Deep Practice: An Overview of the Talent Code |
| 10:30 | Brandon Lee | Remote teaching (Skype/Facetime) |
| 11:15 | Kevin Olson | Artistic Rhetoric: Fluently and Persuasive Speaking the Language of Music — Handout |
Afternoon Sessions
| 12:15-2:00 | Shane Bowles | Fundamentals, Improvisation, Composition and the Amazing Connection to the Staff |
| 1:15 | Kevin Olson | Open Door - Meet the Composer |
| 2:00 | Christian Bohnenstengel | The Healthy Pianist - Injuries and Prevention |
| 2:45 | Lori Arnold | The Making of a Piano Teacher |
| 3:30 | Kevin Olson | Intermediate Level Master Class |
Conference Recital: "Beethoven @ Five"
Featuring talented piano students from the area and special performances, the recital is part of the DSU All-Steinway Series.
Pictures from the 2020 Conference:
