Faculty and Staff
Dr. Garik Pedersen, Piano
Department of Music & Dance
Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
(734) 487-1427
garik.pedersen@emich.edu
Garik Pedersen, Professor of Piano, has performed as soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and in Canada, Taiwan, Central America, Scandinavia, and the Philippine Islands. He has been presented in recitals by the U.S. State Department, the National Federation of Music Clubs, at six state music teachers conventions, and on numerous public radio broadcasts. Orchestral appearances include concertos with the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra, the Plymouth Symphony, the Michigan Chamber Brass, the Hastings Symphony, the Ozark Festival Orchestra, and university orchestras in Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. Pedersen has recorded for the Albany and Hornblower labels.
Dr. Pedersen's broad repertoire and imaginative programming reveal eclectic tastes and a commitment to reaching a wide audience. He has presented lecture-recitals devoted to the works of Samuel Barber, Franz Schubert, and Bela Bartok; has championed the works of many living composers; and has presented "theme" concerts devoted to single topics, such as folk music, music as worship, humor in music, and even "musical insects"! His interactive children's concerts, presented in collaboration with colleague Anne Beth Gajda, have included audience participation, costumes, stories and jokes, and even a tap dance!
After studying with Wesley True at Central Missouri State University, Pedersen completed a doctorate in piano performance and pedagogy as a student of John Simms at the University of Iowa. In addition to twenty-five years of university teaching, he has spent many summers working with young pianists at Interlochen Arts Camp, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and other music festivals in Kentucky, Iowa, Indiana, Washington, and Taiwan. He has presented lectures or master classes at universities and for professional organizations in the U.S. and abroad, and has served as an adjudicator for piano competitions in eighteen states. His recent work (with eminent pedagogue Marilyn Lowe) in the application of Music Learning Theory to piano instruction has resulted in a new piano series published by GIA Publications, as well as presentations at the 2006 National Conference of Music Teachers National Association in Austin, Texas and the 2007 Collaborative Conference of MTNA, the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations and the Royal Conservatory of Music to be held in Toronto, Canada. At Eastern Michigan University Dr. Pedersen teaches applied piano, graduate piano pedagogy, and other piano-related courses.
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