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Piano at UCM
Future Focused. Missouri Focused.
A piano performance or pedagogy degree at UCM gives you the comprehensive training you need to master the craft of musical storytelling. Individually tailored studies in piano together with coursework in piano literature, piano pedagogy, collaborative playing, music theory, music history, music business, and music technology give you the foundations to take your professional career as far as your dreams and a lot of hard work will lead!
We are proud of our long-standing commitment to world-class professional training for Missouri and neighboring state residents. UCM Piano alumni have established successful teaching studios and performing careers throughout the region and beyond. They have continued on to graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, University of Michigan, University of Illinois, University of Colorado-Boulder, Michigan State University, Louisiana State University, and Bowling Green State University among others.
Generous Scholarships. Jumpstart Your Musical Career.
Multiple scholarships for pianists combined with low in-state and neighboring-state tuition make UCM one of the most affordable undergraduate degree programs for piano anywhere in the region. Merit scholarships based on your audition, academic scholarships, and collaborative piano service scholarships for those with an interest in accompanying are just some of the options available to help you jumpstart your professional career in music.
From Warrensburg to the World. Learn with the Best.
Internationally established piano faculty Dr. Mia Kim and Dr. Albert Kim are your dedicated teachers and mentors for your piano performance or pedagogy degree at UCM. In addition, you will study with UCM’s cutting-edge music faculty and world-renowned guest artists in solo and chamber music. Guest artists have included Nelita True, Thomas Schumacher, Alan Chow, and Natalya Antonova (Eastman School of Music); Alvin Chow (Oberlin College); Jennifer Hayghe (University of Colorado at Boulder); Marina Lomazov (University of South Carolina); and many other artist-teachers of international stature. We are here to take you from Warrensburg to the world!
Fall Piano Festival - October 12, 2024
We are thrilled to host our first annual Fall Piano Festival at UCM — a full day of workshops, masterclasses, performances, and a tour of our picturesque Warrensburg campus. Attendees will also have the opportunity to play a "mock audition," running through their state or college audition programs for feedback from Dr. Mia Kim and Dr. Albert Kim. Admission is free for all participants grades 7-12 or applying from community colleges. For more information, please e-mail Dr. Albert Kim (akim@ucmo.edu).
Click here to start your application.
Click here to schedule an audition and apply for music scholarships.
Click here to learn more about the B.M. in Piano Pedagogy.
Click here for the UCM Summer Piano Institute.
Looking for information on Graduate Studies in Piano? Click here.
Piano and Piano Pedagogy, Bachelor of Music (B.M.)
Program Information
Course Requirements
Why choose UCM Piano?
Future Focused
UCM Piano offers you practical training in the rapidly changing fields of performance and teaching. Our small program size allows you to enjoy individualized mentoring with your piano teachers, who are here to guide you toward your career goals each step of the way.
Our students are pianists of the future: where social media, creative innovation, and technology form the new stage for sharing their voices with the world.
Missouri Focused
UCM Piano proudly maintains its long-standing commitment to world-class professional training for Missouri and neighboring state residents. From your piano faculty (both internationally active performing artists) to guest workshops by visiting faculty from Eastman, Northwestern, Indiana University and other top tier music schools, you will encounter a world of musical ideas—right here at home.
Practice For Your Career
Your musical career begins at UCM. Our students have been recognized at national competitions and accepted to prestigious graduate programs across the U.S. UCM Piano alumni are pursuing active careers as private teachers, solo performers, collaborative artists, ensemble pianists, audio engineers, and K-12 educators throughout the region and beyond.
An All-Steinway School
We are extremely proud to have been an All-Steinway School since 2006. Starting with our purchase of 48 brand new Steinway and Steinway-designed Boston pianos, we took delivery of 13 more in 2016, including our newest 9-foot Steinway concert grand. On our concert stages and in our teaching studios, practice rooms, and classrooms, you will be playing on the finest collection of instruments anywhere in the region. As a piano major you have exclusive access to reserved practice rooms with Steinway grand pianos.
Upcoming Piano Events
Student and Alumni News
2019
- Leah Terrill (B.M. Piano Pedagogy '19) was selected Alternate Winner at the South Dakota MTNA Young Artists Competition.
- Ahafia Jurkiewicz-Miles (B.M. Piano Performance '19) wrote, produced, directed, and performed their one-person recital-monologue "With Me, And Such As Me, It Is Different" at the 2019 Kansas City Fringe Festival.
- Tanner Henley (B.M. Piano Performance '22) won the 2019 Pittsburg Piano Festival Concerto Competition, Young Artist Division, and with the Pittsburg Festival Orchestra.
- Hana Oshima (B.M. Piano Performance '20) was a winner of the 2019 Kansas City Musical Club Scholarship Auditions.
- Tanner Henley (B.M. Piano Performance '22) received an Honorable Mention at the 2019 Sigma Alpha Iota Scholarship Awards.
2018
- Hana Oshima (B.M. Piano Performance '20) gave the U.S. premiere of Graham Lynch's for solo piano, at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Kansas City.
- Tanner Henley (B.M. Piano Performance '22) was selected as Runner-Up at the 2018 Missouri Music Teachers Association Honors Auditions.
- Colin Levins (B.M. Piano Performance '22) received an Honorable Mention at the 2018 Missouri Music Teachers Association Honors Auditions.
Upcoming Events
Contact
Mia Kim
Professor
Utt 215
Tel: (660) 543-8900