Master piano by studying with the legends you want to become and contemporary powerhouses shaping the future of piano today. Our “artist-as-mentor” pedagogy means you can take private lessons with more than forty different piano faculty-musicians like NEA Jazz Master Joanne Brakeen or Rachel Z. Or take a private lesson with faculty or private lesson instructors that include Aaron Goldberg. Other great piano faculty include Armen Donelian, Hal Galper, Kirk Nurock, Haim Cotton, Gerard D'Angelo, and Peter Zak.
Improvisation is in our DNA and we provide the flexibility and opportunity to shape your training to fit who you want to become as a pianist and play the music you want to play. Each semester, choose which ensemble you play in from among eighty options. You'll rehearse, record, and perform under the direction of our talented faculty like The Herbie Hancock taught by Kris Davis. Choose from ensembles like Thelonious Monk Ensemble, Herbie Hancock Ensemble, Super Trios Ensemble, Live Drum 'n' Bass Ensemble, The Art of the Rhythm Section, Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, and more.
Begin your career in the heart of New York City's jazz and music scene. Get exposed to contemporary music as it is being played-and have a chance to make it yourself. Recently, piano students played gigs at Zinc Bar and at the Walker Hotel in Greenwich Village. Plus, we're the only school with a jazz club, The Stone, in our lobby.
Learn to think about art, life, collaboration, and creativity in new and unexpected ways-enriching who you are as a musician. Take classes across The New School, including courses in our design school, Parsons, and our liberal arts college, Lang. In one semester, you might work on mastering composition while also looking critically at how music and social justice intersect in the world today. Leave the New School a more well-rounded and prepared artist for the 21st century.