Friday, Nov 15, 2019
The prestigious designation recognizes North America’s most committed piano educators
Westminster Choir College of Rider University is proud to announce that Professor of Piano Ingrid Clarfield recently was inducted into the inaugural class for the Steinway & Sons Teacher Hall of Fame. The prestigious designation recognizes North America’s most committed and passionate piano educators.
Clarfield was joined by 43 teachers from the United States and Canada for the Hall of Fame ceremony and related special events at the historic Steinway factory in New York City. Each teacher was nominated by a Steinway & Sons dealer in the teacher’s home region. Their names are now listed on a commemorative display inside the iconic Steinway & Sons factory. Professor Clarfield was nominated by Jacobs Music.
“Since the very early days of company history, Steinway & Sons has been committed to music education and has been proud to work with some of the finest piano teachers in the world,” says Ron Losby, president and CEO of Steinway & Sons. “These talented educators foster a love of learning and practice in young people that ultimately creates the fabric of tomorrow’s music and culture. We are very happy to create the new Hall of Fame and to celebrate the special men and women who populate it.”
In commenting on his nomination of Clarfield, Robert Rinaldi, senior vice president of operations for Jacobs Music, said, “I nominated Ingrid because of the overwhelming impact that she has made in our community. Not only do we all benefit from her own contributions to piano instruction but also by the many students of Ingrid’s who are now some of the area’s top and most respected piano instructors.”
The primary criteria for nomination to the Hall of Fame include demonstrated outstanding instruction and leadership in acoustic piano education and a significant impact in their local as well as the overall teaching community. Westminster College of the Arts Dean Marshall Onofrio added, “I am so glad that Ingrid has received this prestigious recognition. Her dedication to piano, in particular piano pedagogy, is acknowledged internationally, and I am sure that this is gratifying to Ingrid as an indication of the respect she has garnered from her peers.”
A member of the piano faculty at Westminster Choir College since 1982, Ingrid Clarfield has presented lecture-recitals, workshops and master classes in more than 150 cities across North America, including many presentations at state and national conferences of The Music Teachers National Association. She has presented numerous master classes and pedagogy sessions at the National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy, the TCU/Van Cliburn Institute, the National Piano Teachers Institute, the Music Teachers Association of California, World Piano Pedagogy Conference, and the Calgary Arts Summer School in Alberta, Canada. She has directed Westminster Choir College's Piano Week for High School Students since 1984.
Clarfield is the recipient of numerous awards, including Music Teachers National Association’s Teacher of the Year Award and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Music Educators Association of New Jersey and the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy. At a recent Westminster Choir College Convocation, she was presented with the Jacobs Music Al C. Rinaldi Lifetime Achievement Award.