Joel Schoenhals first grazed the ivory keys of a piano when he was a toddler. Today, the EMU professor has reached one of the pinnacles of his field by recently being named a Steinway Artist, a highly distinguished honor that recognizes outstanding ability and achievement in music. He is the first EMU professor to earn the distinction, which he now shares with major recording artists like Diana Krall, Harry Connick, Jr. and “piano man” Billy Joel.

Hammell Music of Commerce Township, Mich., which recently teamed with EMU to help launch an All-Steinway Initiative on campus, nominated him. A three-month nomination and approval process followed before he was awarded the designation. “I was really thrilled, it’s humbling,” Professor Schoenhals said of the honor. He celebrated the recognition during a special concert Sept. 14 at Pease Auditorium. (The concert also marked the start of the $2 million campaign by the Department of Music and Dance to acquire Steinway-branded pianos for all major venues and performance stages on campus.)

Professor Schoenhals has dedicated more than 30 years of his life to music and piano through performing and teaching. His family fostered his interest in music. “My parents always encouraged me to pursue where my gifts were,” he said. His mother first taught him how to play. At an early age, he developed a habit and appreciation for discipline. “Music is like a language you need to be speaking everyday,” he said.

He grew up in Tulsa, Okla., where his father served as a pastor and eventually a bishop. The young Schoenhals was surrounded by church music, such as organ preludes and choir music. His family would sing hymns around the piano; all played instruments and would create music together.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and his master’s and performing certificates from the Eastman School of Music in New York. He began his EMU teaching career as an associate professor of piano.
While he performed at the September concert on three legendary pianos – Vladimir Horowitz’s concert grand, a concert grand owned by Van Cliburn and a brilliant blue seven-foot Rhapsody art deco piano designed by acclaimed furniture designer Frank Pollaro – he will remember most the celebration of music that occurred. “You only get inducted [as a Steinway Artist] once. I won’t forget how people came up on stage and were thrilled to play on these pianos,” he said. “Seeing all the students and people play on them, talking with each other and enjoying the music was the best [aspect of the night]. It was more than just a concert. It celebrated music, the All-Steinway Initiative and Steinway. It was like a party.”

There is a “no pain, no gain” mentality for some musicians, but not Professor Schoenhals. Instead, his approach focuses on ease, naturalness and the pursuit of a richer life within the music. He credits this philosophy to Rebecca Penneys, a professor of piano at the Eastman School, who helped him learn music through different approaches. She was a pivotal figure in his life and served as a driving force in encouraging him to be an individual, to search for his own voice and to strive for authenticity, he said.

“I think the piano is pretty extraordinary. You use your whole self: your mind, your body and after you take care of the nuts and bolts of playing, there’s a spiritual aspect involved in playing,” he said. Playing music is a medium of communication for him to reach students and audiences. “Working with the whole person motivates me. It’s very life-changing,” he said.

(For more on the Steinway Initiative, please visit emich.edu/music.)