Piano Overview

Develop your talents in a large and flourishing piano community. Join a mutually supportive circle of friends committed to discovering their best musical selves. The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music offers undergraduate students experiences in solo performance, instrumental chamber music, and vocal collaboration, building a solid foundation of technical and musical skills. Pianists in the graduate programs can select to specialize in solo performance, performance and pedagogy, or collaborative performance.

Find Key Strengths

Team Up

The experience is communal. Undergraduate and graduate pianists enjoy separate weekly group classes where students perform for their peers and receive coaching from faculty members and guest instructors. In a range of courses, pianists acquire skills to teach, perform as soloists, or collaborate with singers or other instrumentalists. 

Perform

Performance plays a central role. Undergraduates and graduates perform two to three times per term for faculty instructors other than their primary teachers and, occasionally, for international masterclass guest pianists. Festivals provide additional occasions for performing. They include Pianofest, an annual three-day event at which pianists play for peers and faculty, and Pianofêtes, an annual event showcasing pianists in programs other than performance, such as Interdisciplinary Music Studies and Music Education.

Compete

Formal competitions provide Piano students with opportunities to distinguish themselves. The annual concerto competition provides opportunities for pianists to be selected to appear as soloists with the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The annual Koldofsky Collaborative Piano Prize is open to student collaborative pianists. The Lilian Goh Doctor of Musical Arts Piano Recital Competition is open to doctoral pianists from any Piano stream. 

Play

All pianists can access the superb Hamburg Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano in Walter Hall, our main recital venue. Teaching studios, classrooms, and practice rooms dedicated to pianists continue a large number of high-quality grand pianos.

Programs

Engage with Experts

Repertoire

Piano faculty teach a wide range of other repertoire to over 150 pianists in all graduate and undergraduate programs. Music composed in the Western Art Music tradition is the locus of faculty expertise, and students are encouraged to learn works from multiple historical periods and styles, including works by composers from historically marginalized groups. Our piano faculty collaborate frequently with composers, and they bring their broad experience with contemporary music to the studio and classroom.

Visitors

Faculty teaching is augmented by contributions from visiting pianists. This is made possible by our location in Toronto as well as by endowed funds that support residencies by guest artists.

Pedagogy

Students in the pedagogy stream are provided unique mentored opportunities to develop their skills teaching children in classroom and private lesson settings through the University of Toronto Piano Pedagogy Program. In addition, through a collaboration with the Dixon Hall Music School, students can gain experience working with children from Toronto’s Regent Park, Moss Park and St Lawrence neighbourhoods.

Pianist Dane Ko and singer Cyra Asli performing in MacMillan Theatre
Student pianist performing in Massenet's Cendrillon

Experience a Vibrant Music Culture

Concerts and Masterclasses

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music is located in a major centre of music culture. Toronto offers student pianists exciting listening, learning, and performance opportunities. Venues such as Roy Thompson Hall (home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra), Koerner Hall (with its annual piano series), Heliconian Hall, and the Canadian Music Centre regularly attract performances from great local, national, and world pianists. Outside the concert hall, visiting artists sometimes teach piano masterclasses at the Faculty of Music.

Networking and Teaching

U of T piano students can connect with the vibrant musical community on and off campus through paid professional work facilitated by the Music Booking Office. Separately, many students find opportunities to teach at various music schools throughout the Greater Toronto Area or launch teaching studios of their own.

Upcoming Events

January
23
Brass, Percussion, Piano, Woodwinds | Chamber Music
Free - Public - Concert
Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location Walter Hall
January
31
Free - Public - Concert
Time 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location Walter Hall
March
6
Free - Public - Concert
Time 12:10pm - 1:00pm
Location Walter Hall
March
20
Free - Public - Concert
Time 12:10pm - 1:00pm
Location Walter Hall

Past Events

December
1
Free - Public - Concert
Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location Walter Hall
November
30
Free - Public - Concert
Time 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Location Walter Hall
November
29
Free - Public - Concert
Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Location Walter Hall
November
14
Brass, Percussion, Piano, Woodwinds | Chamber Music
Free - Public - Concert
Time 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Location Walter Hall

Have a question?

Contact our Piano Area Head for more information about our Piano area and programs.