Theresa Bogard to Give UWs Presidents Speaker Series Talk

Theresa Bogard, internationally known as a pianist and widely recognized as an outstanding teacher, will present a lecture and performance Wednesday, April 29, at 4:10 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center.

Currently the head of the UW Department of Music, Bogard was selected to give this year’s UW President’s Speaker Series talk on “The Making of a Pianist.” The criteria for selection include a long-term national recognition for research or creative activity and the ability to communicate with all members of the university community.

The Speaker Series Committee notes, “Becoming a concert pianist is a daunting task that takes years of study and countless hours of consistent practice. Accomplished pianists need an innate understanding of music and thorough knowledge of music history, theory, form and analysis, as well as technical skills developed through careful application of the basic principles of tension-free movements of the hand, wrist and body at the keyboard.”

This lecture performance will focus on both the musical and technical development of pianists and how development of their craft is different than performers on other instruments.

As a pianist, Bogard performs numerous solo and chamber music recitals throughout the U.S. each year and has appeared in concerto performances with the UW Symphony Orchestra, the UW Chamber Orchestra and other orchestras. She also has performed to rave reviews in Australia, Belgium, Mexico, New Zealand and Russia, among other places.

Bogard received her bachelor's and doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her master's degree, all in piano performance, from the Eastman School of Music in New York. Before joining the UW faculty in 1992, Bogard held positions at Northeast Missouri State University and West Chester University in Pennsylvania.

The President's Speaker Series encourages and honors individual faculty members who have been especially successful in balancing the research, educational and service goals of the university. The series calls attention to individuals who have made important, well-rounded contributions to the university's standing.

A committee, composed of the series' previous honorees, nominates candidates, and the selected faculty member is asked to prepare a public presentation on a topic of national interest.