Amy Tarantino-Trafton has taught and coached a wide range of students of diverse backgrounds, ages 2 ½ to adult, in both private and class settings. She has a Doctor of Musical Arts diploma in piano performance, and 30 years of teaching and performing experience. Her piano lessons are highly adaptable, geared towards her students' musical interests and aspirations.



Dr. Tarantino-Trafton has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in the U.S. and Europe, and has held staff accompanist positions at the University of Miami, Oberlin College Conservatory, and at summer festivals such as the University of Miami’s program in Salzburg, Austria and the Franco-American Vocal Academy in Perigueux, France.  She received a Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance from the University of Miami, and Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music.  In addition to performing traditional repertoire, Ms. Tarantino-Trafton enjoys working with living composers, and received a Presser Foundation Music Award for research on her doctoral paper, Unconventional Notation:  A Pianist’s Guide to Intent and Execution. She has been featured at the Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music, Southern Chapter conferences of the College Music Society, and the Society of Composers, Inc. national conference. 

 

Ms. Tarantino-Trafton is deeply committed to sharing music with new audiences. As Founder and Director of ArtQuest (Cleveland, OH) she developed a music and art program for an inner-city charter school that previously had none. She was the recipient of a grant from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) for her intercultural integration project “Mutual Understanding through Music” with members of a large Roma community from Toflea, Romania living in Hagen. She has also received a stipend from the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council) for her upcoming series of chamber music concerts at the Emil Schumacher Museum in Hagen. These concerts will be repeated for children and immigrant groups in the community, in combination with an art project based on the music presented. She currently resides in Hagen, Germany.

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Education

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University of Miami Frost School of Music, Coral Gables, FL
Doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance (2006)

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The Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland, OH
Master of Music in Piano Performance (1995)
Bachelor of Music with honors in Piano Performance (1993)

 

Case Western Reserve University Mandel Center for Nonprofit Management
Certificate in Nonprofit Management (2002 )

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Post Graduate Studies in Piano Performance – Conservatory of Berne, Switzerland (1995-1996)