Welcome to the Keyboard Area
The Keyboard Area of the University of Arizona School of Music is proud of its long tradition of excellence and its commitment to leading young pianists and organists to realize their potential. Our graduates can be found sharing their talents in the world’s concert halls, in colleges and universities, in religious institutions, and in private teaching studios. Students drawn from throughout the world are mentored by a diverse and internationally-recognized faculty who encourage excellence in performance, innovation in programming, and a spirit of collegiality in the field.
Studies center on studio instruction, weekly master classes, and regularly-scheduled public concerts. Performance and teaching opportunities abound both on campus and regionally, and our students gain real-world experience in audience development through programs such as Arizona Camerata, the UA Pianists on Tour series, and radio broadcasts on Arizona Public Media.
The University of Arizona School of Music is the only All-Steinway School in the Southwest, a region that has drawn musicians, artists, poets, writers, and architects for generations. Located in the heart of the spectacular Sonoran Desert and surrounded by five mountain ranges, Tucson is a city of over one million inhabitants that is rich in culture and history. The warm climate during the academic year is ideal for piano study.
When you audition, plan to stay an extra day or two to explore this inspiring setting!
Dr. Daniel Linder, Keyboard Area Coordinator, Associate Professor of Practice
Praised as a “pianistic chameleon” (Fanfare), Daniel Linder is a versatile pianist, chamber musician, and teaching artist. He has performed to high acclaim in venues across the United States and in the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark, and recordings of his performances have aired on KUAT Classical Radio in Tucson, AZ. Recent accolades include the Fresno Musical Club Susan Torres Award, and prizes in the James Ramos International Competition, the Seattle International Piano Competition, and the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, among others.
Recent highlights include appearances at the London Festival of American Music, the world premiere of Kay He’s multimedia work Lost in Colors, and collaboration with the Russian String Orchestra in a performance of Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No. 1. After his performance of Bell Illuminations by Augusta Read Thomas, the composer praised his “vivid, elegant, nuanced, and colorful” pianism. An active recording artist, he is most recently featured on Metropolis: The Piano Music of Joshua Nichols (Summit Records, 2023). His recordings of solo and duo piano works by Daniel Asia are included on Ivory II (Summit Records, 2021), and he also appears with bassoonists William Dietz and Scott Pool on A Second Look (Soundset Recordings, 2022) and with oboist Sara Fraker and clarinetist Jackie Glazier on Johanna Beyer: Music for Woodwinds (New World Records, 2022).
Dr. Linder is Associate Professor of Practice in Piano at the University of Arizona’s Fred Fox School of Music. He has presented lectures on piano pedagogy and music teaching and learning at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) and state and national conferences of the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA), and his article, A Multisensory Approach to Memorization was named ‘Article of the Year’ by CAPMT Connect, the e-Journal of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers.
Dr. Fanya Lin, Associate Professor of Practice
Described as a “striking interpreter” who gives a “committed and heartfelt performance” by Musical America and The New York Times, pianist Fanya Lin has entranced audiences worldwide with her charismatic and fiery performances. Lin’s “mesmerizing performance” of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in UK was depicted as “a tornado had touched down through her body and lifted her, feathers fluttering, from the piano stool as she weighed into the keys.” Her orchestral appearances include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic, The Jackson Symphony, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, New Art Symphony, among others.
An avid soloist, Fanya promotes classical music to the public by creating innovative concert programs and engages her audience by presenting interactive performances. She has been featured in numerous prestigious concert series, including the Schubert Club Musicians on the Rise, the Stecher and Horowitz Young Artist Series, and The Steinway Society of Western Pennsylvania. Her albums and EPs have been released by world-class labels such as IsoMike, Summit Records, and Soundset Recordings. Fanya’s concerto album Rhapsodic with Maestro Theodore Kuchar and the Lublin Philharmonic is released by Navona Records in 2023.
As a philanthropist, Fanya has collaborated with various non-profit organizations as well as psychological and social service associations through fundraising galas and salon concerts to create access for education and promote mental health awareness. Inspired by her mentors Dr. Yu-Jane Yang, Professor Hung-Kuan Chen, and Professor Lydia Artymiw for their dedication in education, Dr. Fanya Lin is currently serving as the Associate Professor of Practice in Piano at the University of Arizona, where she teaches applied piano lessons, chamber music, piano literature, and Yoga for Musicians course.
Dr. Jenny J. Lee, Instructor of Piano
Korean-American pianist Jenny J. Lee teaches applied piano and chamber music at the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music where she is on faculty as Instructor of Piano. Jenny completed her doctoral studies with Vladimir Viardo at the University of North Texas as a Teaching Fellow for the Keyboard Department and as a recipient of the College of Music’s Eastman Scholarship. She previously studied with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where she received her Bachelor’s on full scholarship as a Jacobs Scholar, and earned her Master’s degree from the Yale School of Music in the studio of Peter Frankl and Christopher Elton. In addition to her solo studies, Lee is a committed chamber musician. Her collaborations have been featured on WQXR NYC Radio, Yale’s Oneppo Chamber Music Series, New Music New Haven, and the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music. Most recently, Jenny was named the 3rd Place National Winner of The 2022 American Prize Competition in the Performing Arts (Solo Piano Division).
Lee held Solo Piano Fellowships at the Bowdoin International Music Festival (2018), Sarasota Music Festival (2017), the Pianofest in the Hamptons (2016), and the Music Academy of the West (2015). She also participated in programs at the Académie Internationale de Courchevel in France, the Pilsen International Music Academy in the Czech Republic, and the Virtuoso & Belcanto Festival in Lucca, Italy.
Dr. Lee received top prizes in the American Protégé International Competition, the Young Pianists of New Jersey Competition, and the Steinway Society Scholarship Competition. She is a 2014 Finalist of the 7th New York International Piano Competition, and in partnership with the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation, gave a debut recital at the Downtown Music at Grace Concert Series.
Jenny has recently participated in the album titled “Metropolis”(2023) — a collection of solo piano works by composer Joshua Nichols, released by Summit Records.
