Piano Workshop History
A History of the Goshen College Piano Workshop and Academy
The seed for a Goshen College piano workshop was planted in the beginnings of the Goshen College Piano Preparatory Department in the late 1960s. In 1966, associate professor of piano Kathryn Sherer joined forces with John O’Brien who was then teaching in a private studio in Elkhart (In.). Together they set up group lesson activities along with private lessons for 10 young students who were enrolled in the budding program.
Statistics are scarce from those beginning years, but we know that by 1973 there were five teachers registered for a 3 1/2 week pedagogy course and 37 teachers for the five-day workshop. Most of these came from neighboring states, but some came from as far away as Virginia, Montana, and Ontario, Canada. In addition to the teachers, there were 14 students enrolled for the summer. Special guests and clinicians for that year’s workshop were Carol Rosenberger, Frances Clark and Louise Goss.
As word of the program spread, there was interest from teachers in outlying areas to come with their students during the summer to learn from the Goshen experience. In the first few years this was done by informal arrangement, but by the summer of 1970, Kathryn Sherer recognized this event as an ongoing annual “piano workshop.”
Clinicians and Staff of Past Workshops
| Year | Guest Clinicians | Goshen College Staff |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Carol Rosenberger Frances Clark Louise Goss |
John O’Brien Kathryn Sherer Veronica Roth |
| 1974 | Elvina Truman Pearce | John O’Brien Mary K. Oyer |
| 1975 | Elvina Truman Pearce | John O’Brien Kathryn Sherer Doyle Preheim Veronica Roth |
| 1976 | Marvin Blickenstaff | John O’Brien Kathryn Sherer Philip Clemens |
| 1977 | Louise Goss | John O’Brien Kathryn Sherer |
| 1978 | Elvina Truman Pearce | John O’Brien Kathryn Sherer |
| 1979 | Joseph Banowetz | Marvin Blickenstaff Celia Weiss Mary K. Oyer |
| 1980 | Nelita True | Marvin Blickenstaff Laura Jane Fuller Kathryn Sherer Celia Weiss |
| 1981 | Enid Katahn | Marvin Blickenstaff Celia Weiss |
| 1982 | Nelita True Sr. Marjorie Delaplane |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer |
| 1983 | Eloise Ristad | Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer James Goldsworthy |
| 1984 | Jane Magrath John Owings |
Marvin Blickenstaff |
| 1985 | Joan Conway Maurice Hinson |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer |
| 1986 | Wolfgang Rubsam Christopher Leuz Mary Jo Schmidt Larry Rast |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer David Mosley |
| 1987 | Arthur Becknell Donald Walker |
Marvin Blickenstaff Mary Jo Schmidt Douglas Bomberger Mary Louise Hooley |
| 1988 | Seymour Bernstein Marion Hall |
Kathryn Sherer Mary Jo Schmidt Mary Louise Hooley Lon Sherer |
| 1989 | Barbara English Maris James Goldsworthy |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer |
| 1990 | Anne Farber Fernando Laires Virgil Smith Karen Taylor |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer Arlene Hinckle |
| 1991 | Malcolm Bilson David Breckbill Andrew Trechak Karen Zorn |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer Arlene Hinckle |
| 1992 | Nelita True Cathy Albergo Jeffrey Jacob Karen Zorn |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer Arlene Hinckle |
| 1993 | Elvina Truman Pearce John O’Brien Sam Holland Karen Zorn |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer Arlene Steffen Chris Thögersen Lon Sherer |
| 1994 | Marilyn Neeley Judith Bettina James Goldsworthy Karen Zorn |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer Arlene Steffen |
| 1995 | Brian Ganz Douglas Bomberger Karen Zorn |
Marvin Blickenstaff Kathryn Sherer Arlene Steffen |
| 1996 | Jane Magrath Paul Barnes Karin Edwards Yat-Yee Chong |
Marvin Blickenstaff Beverly Lapp Arlene Steffen |
| 1997 | Phyllis Lehrer Douglas Bomberger Martha K. Smith |
Marvin Blickenstaff Beverly Lapp Kathryn Sherer |
| 1998 | Marilyn Neeley Anne Farber Robert Vandall Karen Zorn |
Marvin Blickenstaff Beverly Lapp Kathryn Sherer |
| 1999 |
Robert Duke
Catherine Rollin
|
Marvin Blickenstaff |
| 2000 | Nancy and Randall Faber Marilyn Houser Hamm John Owings Karen Zorn Yat-Yee Chong |
Marvin Blickenstaff Beverly Lapp David Gross Matthew Hill |
| 2001 | Elvina Truman Pearce Douglas Bomberger Paul Sheftel Karen Zorn |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2002 | Ena Bronstein Barton Dennis Alexander Pallavi Mahidhara Christopher Wallace Megan Monahan Wallace |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2003 | Marvin Blickenstaff Paul Wirth Bette Close Joyce Grill Spencer Myer |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2004 | Nelita True Samuel S. Holland Judy Nelson Philip Keveren Jonathan Sokasits |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2005 | William Westney Phyllis Lehrer Ena Bronstein Barton Catherine Rollin Liz Seidel The Sherer String Trio |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2006 | Paul Wirth Robert Vandall Nancy Bachus Christopher Hepp Jacqueline Herbein Arthur Greene Megan & Christopher Wallace |
Matthew Hill Anna Bauer |
| 2008 | Jessica Johnson Catherine Rollin E. Douglas Bomberger Mark Swartzendruber Sole Nero |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill Anna Bauer |
| 2010 | Lisa Weinheimer Roebuck Karin Redekopp Mark Edwards Kevin Olson |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2011 | Carolyn True Garick Pedersen Melody Bober |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |
| 2012 | Nicholas Roth Jody Graves Jorge Muniz |
Beverly Lapp Matthew Hill |