After six years'
study at the University of Wyoming as a piano performance major, I have
achieved the educational goals for a master's student on a very high
standard. I have attained a high
level of technical skill, in addition to a more profound understanding of
musical styles and idioms. I
strive to use the knowledge I have gained about music analysis to deepen my
musical understanding in performances of works from all periods. I am an excellent sight-reader with
outstanding musicality, and plenty of experience as a collaborative
pianist. All these advantages make
me a well-trained pianist with rich potential. I also have received comprehensive theory and aural training
throughout my college education.
In the Department of Music at the University of Wyoming, I have been granted a graduate assistantship for the 2008-2010 academic years. I am the primary instructor for two sections of class piano for music majors. As the instructor for this class, I have greatly increased my classroom teaching skills and have become a competent class piano teacher. I was also a teaching assistant for second year aural theory where I am responsible for giving and grading exams and teaching class when the instructor of record is out of town. Such experiences have gained my strength to be an extraordinary piano professor in a university while maintaining an active and prominent performance career.
The University of Wyoming has offers me a very balanced yet dynamic education. Despite the small size of the program at the Department of Music, both the performing and academic trainings are maintained in a professionally high level. At the same time, each student is valued as an important individual because of the well-controlled student-teacher ratio. The UW has also been always generously offering every student an opportunity to use first-class teaching and health utilities.
Yu (Dean) Zhang
Master of Piano
Performance Student
