SMTA Piano Masterclass Series
Chair: Michelle Huang, NCTM
Date: May 16, 2026
2:00 - 3:30 pm Session 1
3:30 - 3:45 pm Break
3:45 - 5:15 pm Session 2
Registration period: May 1 - May 9, 2026
Location: Steinway Gallery Downtown
Masterclass Artist Teacher: Joanne Kong and Paul Hanson, University of Richmond, VA
Registration Process: Student entries to the masterclass are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Registration Fees:
SMTA Members:
Intermediate: $45, Advanced: $55
Non-SMTA Members:
Intermediate: $55, Advanced $65
The SMTA Masterclass Series provides students the opportunity to be coached by highly qualified visiting master teachers. Students will receive valuable feedback on their pieces and benefit from observing the critiques of the other participating students. Open to pre-college students at the intermediate and advanced levels.
Masterclass is open to the public.
Dr. Joanne Kong
Dr. Joanne Kong is currently the director of the accompanying and chamber music programs at the University of Richmond. Over her more than fifty years of teaching, she has given numerous master classes as a guest piano, instrumental, vocal and chamber coach, including teaching activities at New England Conservatory, New York University, Yale University, the European Chamber Music Institute and many others, including tours of India and Brazil. She has been recognized for her exceptional work with gifted young musicians, who have won awards in national and international competitions. Her performances have been praised for “great finesse and flexibility” (The Washington Post), “utmost keyboard sensitivity and variety of tone” (Richmond Times-Dispatch), and “superb artistry” (San Antonio Express-News) in works “sensitively played” (New York Times). Dr. Kong’s versatility includes the distinction of being the first artist to release a harpsichord-piano recording of the Goldberg and Diabelli Variations, on the BRIOSO label, and in 2007 she gave the World Premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Colgrass’s Side by Side, the first concerto to be written that features a soloist in a dual role as both pianist and harpsichordist. As a gifted collaborator she has performed with some of the world’s finest musicians including the Shanghai String Quartet, flautist Eugenia Zukerman, and 3–time Grammy Award–winning ensemble eighth blackbird. She is the recipient of numerous honors including performance fellowships from the American Academy of the Arts in Europe and the Bach Aria Festival, and the Irl Allison Grand Prize in the 1985 International Piano Recording Competition.
Dr. Paul Hanson
Dr. Paul Hanson has been acclaimed for his “dextrous authority” (Los Angeles Times), “relentless tension and drama” (The Virginian-Pilot), and the San Antonio Express-News wrote that “Hanson’s tender singing line, intelligent phrasing and total magisterial command made this a distinguished performance.” He holds degrees from Washington State University, the University of Southern California and University of Oregon, and has studied with Daniel Pollack, Leonard Stein, and Victor Steinhardt. Dr. Hanson’s numerous performances include appearances for the Third Coast New Music Festival, Hindemith Festival, Columbia University, and concerts at the Arnold Schoenberg Institute where he was Assistant to the Archivist. His special interest in contemporary music includes performances of the complete solo music of Schoenberg, as well as repertoire of Charles Ives, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, and many others. During the 2008-2009 season he gave several performances of Elliott Carter’s Night Fantasies in honor of the composer’s centennial, and was a guest artist and faculty member at New England Conservatory’s Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice. Currently he is a piano faculty member at the University of Richmond.