Walter Zev Feldman is a leading researcher in both Ottoman Turkish and Jewish music. He is author of the books Music of the Ottoman Court: Makam, Composition, and the Early Ottoman Instrumental Repertoire (Berlin, 1996), and Klezmer: Music, History, & Memory (Oxford, 2016), and has contributed the entries "Ottoman Music," and "Klezmer Music" to the New Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians. In 2004 he co-directed the successful application of the Mevlevi Dervishes of Turkey as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity for UNESCO. His current research interests include the relation of rhythmic cycle (usul) and melody in Ottoman music, and gesture in Ashkenazic Jewish and other dance cultures.

Scott McBride Smith is a recognized leader in music education. As the Cordelia Brown Murphy Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Kansas, he focuses on national issues of teacher training and piano pedagogy. As President and CEO of the International Institute for Young Musicians, he leads a summer program offering specialized training for gifted young performers from around the world. A co-author of the groundbreaking new series American Popular Piano, he has helped create a course of study for today's student - providing tools that inspire the necessary hard work while playing music they love. As former president of Royal American Conservatory Examinations, he worked to establish standards by championing national curriculum and assessment in the USA. And as a former division president of Music Teachers National Association and president of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers, he works on concerns that affect all professionals in the music teaching community. A long-time teacher of prize-winning students in Irvine, California, Dr. Smith's students have been California State Champions in the years 1988, 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2008. Former students have been First Prize winners in the Naftsger Competition, Tchaikovsky Competition and in competitions of the Music Teachers National Association. Amir Khosrowpour, Dr. Smith';s student for 11 years, was the 2001-2002 Steinway National Collegiate Champion while a student of Dr. Jack Winerock at the University of Kansas. His student Jeremy Siskind was the 2002 winner of the ASACAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer award. Dr. Smith is co-author of the college text The Well-Tempered Keyboard Teacher and associate editor of the magazine Clavier Companion. He is co-author of Christopher Norton's Guide to Microjazz. The growing interest in his philosophical and cognitive approach to music teaching has resulted in appearances across the US, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America, including workshops and showcases at every MTNA Conference since 1999. But he has never lost the ability to see humor in the profession and laugh. Dr. Smith has served as Visiting Professor at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Lima, Peru; at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts; in China, at the Sichaun Conservatory of Music and at the Shenzhen Arts School; and in Taiwan, sponsored by the International Piano Teaching Foundation. Scott McBride Smith received his doctorate from the University of Southern California, where he was co-winner of the Outstanding Graduate in Piano award. A former member of the Music Teachers National Association National Board, he is also a member of the European Piano Teachers Association and a Level One Certified member the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association.

D.M.A., Piano Performance, 1982 University of Southern California

Minor(s): Music History, Conducting, 20th-century American and English Literature

Smith, S. M., Hung, C., & Bu, J. (2019). United States Music Certification Exam Curriculum. Lawrence. (Refereed)

This was a major re-edit and translation of the English language version. There are three books (Repertoire, Technic, and Skills) in 10 levels.

Smith, S. M. (2019). American Popular Piano, Etudes, Bk. 4. (Refereed)

This is a major revision of the 2005 original, incorporating a research-based approach to teaching improvisation at early levels of piano study. It was published in China in Chinese translation.

Smith, S. M. (2018). American Popular Piano Etudes, Preparatory Level. In American Popular Piano. (Refereed)

This is a major revision of the 2005 original, incorporating a research-based approach to teaching improvisation at early levels of piano study.

Smith, S. M. (2018). Seymour Fink Master Technician. Clavier Companion. (Refereed)

Smith, S. M. (2018). Clavier Companion. (Refereed)

McBride Smith, S. (2018). In S. M. Smith, USMCE Piano Studies Book, The New Millennium Series, Diamond Edition, Grade 10. Lawrence. (Refereed)

This is the second of two advanced level studies books to be used in the U.S. Music Certification Examinations. I chose content, indicated leveling, and provided fingering on selected works.

McBride Smith, S. (2018). In S. M. Smith, USMCE Piano Studies Book, The New Millennium Series, Diamond Edition, Grade 9. (Refereed)

This is the first of two advanced level studies books to be used in the U.S. Music Certification Examinations. I chose content, indicated leveling, and provided fingering on selected works.

McBride Smith, S. (2018). In S. M. Smith, USMCE Piano Performance Book The New Millenium Series Diamond Edition, Grade 7. (Refereed)

I re-edited this educational anthology for publication in China, correcting note errors and re-doing fingering where necessary.

McBride Smith, S. (2018). In S. M. Smith, USMCE Piano Performance Book The New Millenium Series Diamond Edition, Grade 8. (Refereed)

I re-edited this educational anthology for publication in China, correcting note errors and re-doing fingering where necessary.

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