Karen Michele Walwyn

Professor

Affiliated Departments

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Dr. Karen Walwyn, the first African-American female Steinway Artist as a concert pianist/composer, is an Albany recording artist and a Florence Price scholar. Noted as the first pianist to record the Florence Price Concerto in E Minor for piano, Walwyn has continued to perform, record, and present research on Florence Price as she began her work on composers of color with her first two recordings from Albany Records. Additionally, Walwyn made her compositional debut at the Kennedy Center where she performed "Reflections on 9/11" for solo piano. She later recorded it at Albany Records, receiving rave reviews from the American Record Guide and Fanfare Magazine. Walwyn received her B.M. and M.M. from the University of Miami under Dr. J.B. Floyd where she studied with Professors Rosalie Gregory and Susan Starr, and completed her education with her D.M.A. from the University of Michigan under Dr. Arthur Greene.

Walwyn performs as a solo artist and as a guest artist with symphony orchestras across the continent and abroad. She has recorded and produced five albums and has been a guest artist with the New Black Music Repertory Ensemble and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra in 2021, where she premiered the newly released recording of Price's authentic score of Concerto in One Movement in E Minor. Walwyn was featured in the Emmy–nominated documentaryThe Caged Bird: The Life and Music of Florence B. Price, NPR's Classical Breakdown with Jonathan Banther on Florence Price, and PBS's Now Hear This with Scot Yoo on the subject of Florence Price. Walwyn’s most recent album release, Florence B. Price, was selected as a top five pick by Fanfare Magazine’s critic James Harrington.

Courses Taught (1)

Private Instruction - Piano: All Levels

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Career Highlights

Guest artist with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Solo piano albums: Florence B. Price (Kadoro Klassics), pianist; Coviello Contemporary, subtitled 'Memorials on the Twentieth Anniversary of September 11th,' composer; Dark Fires: Walwyn and Friends, Vol. 2 (Albany Records), pianist; Dark Fires: 20th Century American Music, Vol. 1 (Albany Records), pianist; Reflections on 9/11 (Albany Records), pianist and composer; Diabelli Squared Project (Albion Records), composer
Guest artist recording: Concerto in One Movement (Albany Records), pianist
Collaborative album: Spirit of the Trumpeter (Albany Records), pianist

Awards

International Steinway Artist Award
Global Medal Award of Excellence
A Mellon Faculty Fellow
Berklee Faculty Development Grant Program
Berklee Faculty Recording Grant Program
Howard University Start-Up Research Faculty Grant Award
Office of the Vice Provost of Academic and Multicultural Affairs Grant Award
Office of the Vice President for Research Grant Award

In Their Own Words

"I enjoy helping students to find their most comfortable, tensionless, and injury-free approach to the piano while developing a wide range of touches on the piano. Whether the student is playing a lyrical Bill Evans song or a voluminous Liszt Transcendental etude, I work with educating the pianist on how to use their natural body weight, how to transfer the weight to the keyboard and how to use the weight for speed, accuracy, and sound production. If you are feeling pain, then I am ready to help relieve it and prevent it from happening anymore so that we can focus on making some amazing music together."

"I have spent most of my life performing as a solo concert pianist, lecture-recitalist, guest artist with a symphony orchestra, composer, and researcher on the life and music of Florence Price, the first African American female composer to gain international status. The preparation that it takes for me to accomplish any of these feats is what I bring into the lesson. My philosophy as a performing musician has developed based on bringing the tools of research, teaching, and practice into one continuous flow which allows me to prepare efficiently, succinctly, and still remain musically engaged."

"I have had the opportunity to teach at University of Michigan, University of Miami, Howard University, Bethune College, Southwest Missouri State University, and the American Academy in Barcelona, Spain and have maintained an active performing career. I have learned methods that help me survive the busy life of a performing and recording artist and composer with this experience, plus the many wonderful years that I have studied with my piano teachers: Rosalie Gregory, Dr. Robert Floyd, Ms. Susan Starr, and Dr. Arthur Greene. I have combined the life lessons on and off the stage with their expertise. I bring this to the lesson. I love meeting my students, learning of their interests, and understanding their challenges. It is my goal to help each of my students to visualize their future, develop a method of practice, to understand a healthy approach to the piano, and to help build their sense of artistry as they realize their goals as a budding professional musician."