Kristin Elgersma
Kristin Elgersma is Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music. She holds an M.M. and D.M. from Northwestern University, and has been on faculties at Northwestern, the Interlochen Arts Camp, the Merit School of Music, Benedictine University and Martin Methodist University, among others.
Dr. Elgersma is active as a soloist, collaborative artist, and chamber musician. As a member of the Boston-based Arneis Ensemble, Dr. Elgersma has performed in schools, universities and concert halls throughout the US, and was a featured performer in the 2009 Vianden International Music Festival (Luxembourg). Along with Vanessa Sielert, she currently performs as a member of duality, a saxophone/piano duo dedicated to commissioning and performing new music with both classical and popular influences. She has presented her award-winning lecture-recital on extended piano techniques in 20thcentury American repertoire across the country. From 2009 to the present, she has been featured at the Musical Teachers National Association (MTNA) Conference, the College Music Society (CMS) National and Regional Conferences, the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, and the Illinois and Idaho State Music Teachers Association Conferences.
Dr. Elgersma's students have won prizes in numerous local and state competitions, and have been featured performers in venues such as the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, the National High School Music Institute's Gala Concert, and the prestigious Young Steinway Series at the Skokie, IL, Public Library. She is in demand as an adjudicator, and has recently judged competitions and exams for the Seattle International Piano Festival, the Washington State Music Teachers Association, and the Illinois State Achievement in Music Exams. She is the co-founder and co-director of the University of Idaho Music Preparatory Division.
In 2011 – 2012, Dr. Elgersma was the recipient of a significant University of Idaho Seed Grant to aid in study of the post-1970 American piano repertoire. Additionally, she was recently awarded the Kurt Olsson Early Career Research Fellowship to commission, premiere and record three new American piano works. Her writing has been published in the International Journal of Music Education, MTNA e-Journal, American Music Teacher, and Clavier Companion. Dr. Elgersma joined the piano faculty of the University of Idaho in the fall of 2010.