Acclaimed Piano Professor Gives Conservatory an International Flair
You don't have to be able to read Chinese to understand that the young woman on the cover of the August 2006 issue of Piano Artistry magazine is something special.
Dressed in a beautiful black gown and leaning against a gleaming black grand piano, the cover girl is none other than Tianshu Wang, an internationally acclaimed pianist who also happens to be an associate professor in Capital's Conservatory of Music.
From a young age, Tianshu knew she was destined to be a musician. That's what you do when you have musical abilities and you grow up in China. It's just assumed that music will be your life and you will develop that talent into a career.
Born into a musical family, Tianshu started playing violin at age 4 under the tutelage of her father, a violin professor at the esteemed Shenyang Conservatory. Her mother was a trained singer who then became a radio music reporter; her sister is a violinist in Hong Kong.
"I had dreamed of being a great pianist since I was very young. I didn't like the violin, so I promised my father that I would be a good student if he would let me play the piano!" Tianshu said.
Obviously, she kept her promise. At age 12, Tianshu entered the secondary school associated with Shenyang Conservatory of Music, where she studied for six years, and then she left home to study at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, one of the top music schools in China. There she earned a bachelor of music degree in piano performance.
The opportunity arose for her to come to the United States, where she earned both a master of music degree and a doctorate in piano performance from the University of Arizona. After three years on the faculty of Sweet Briar College in Virginia, Tianshu applied for a position at Capital and was hired in 2002.
"My husband is an artist who taught painting in Shanghai, and we were looking to move to a bigger city that had more opportunities for both of us. Capital was the right job at the right time," Tianshu said. "I had both an education in China and an education in America, and I wanted to combine the strengths of both cultures to create the best students."
William Dederer, dean of Capital's Conservatory of Music, said Tianshu's talents both as an artist and a teacher are extremely impressive. "Tianshu is an outstanding artist who plays from the heart. She conveys a sensitivity through her music."
The notion of establishing a connection between Capital and China was not in the original equation when Tianshu was hired. However, in the four years that Tianshu has been a member of the Capital faculty, a sister-school relationship has been carefully cultivated between Capital and Shenyang Conservatory, located in the political, economic and cultural center of Liaoning Province in northeast China.
Visits to Capital by Shenyang delegations and performers have been reciprocated with visits to China by Dean Dederer and several Capital faculty members. There are ongoing discussions about student and faculty exchange possibilities between the two music schools.
As a result of making friends on the other side of the world, Capital has enrolled five "outstanding caliber" piano students from China, said the dean. "If you hire great teachers, students want to study with them. Tianshu and these students are bringing international attention to the quality of Capital's Conservatory."
At Capital, Tianshu has 11 piano majors and teaches piano literature and class piano. "In China, students are made to focus very narrowly in music. Here, students have to focus on all their studies, not just music, and they learn to play more than one instrument."
Her challenge as a teacher is coming from her youngest student: her own son, who is in kindergarten. He has been playing piano for two years, but Tianshu says she doesn't push him too hard. "It's difficult for us to be mother and son and also to be teacher and student. I want him to experience a lot of things and grow up happy and healthy."
Now an American citizen, Tianshu continues to teach and give master classes each summer at Shenyang Conservatory, where she is a professor and chair of the piano department. She also uses that time to visit family and to introduce her own two young sons to their parents' heritage.
In addition, she travels the globe to give master classes and perform on concert stages in Europe, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, China, Mexico and the United States. The master teachers and performers she used to admire as a child are now her colleagues on the stage and in competition judging.
Her stage appearances include guest performances with many major symphony orchestras in the United States and China. She also was selected to perform in the "Showcase of Talent" at the prestigious Van Cliburn Piano Institute, and in the opening concert of the fifth Shenyang International Music Festival.
Tianshu is one of the featured performers on the CD set "Encyclopedia of Chinese Classical Piano Music," a bestseller in China. She also has recorded with trumpet player Richard Stoelzel on the CD "Born to be Mild." (Personally, she enjoys listening to jazz but admits she has not acquired much of a taste for rock and roll!)
Even with all the international performances and acclaim, Tianshu is happy to be in Central Ohio and proud of her role at Capital University.
"I like my life. It's a balanced life. I get to perform and teach," she said. "And Capital and Dean Dederer have been very supportive of my professional development and the opportunities I have to perform. The working environment here is very intimate, very collegial."
She misses true Chinese food like she grew up eating, the closeness of Chinese relationships and the tradition of extreme respect and obedience that Chinese students show their teachers. "In China, students treat their teachers with high respect like they would their parents. In America, students treat their teachers differently – with respect, but more like friends," Tianshu said.
"America allows you to shine in your own ways. If you're good enough, they will give you opportunity. I have a good opportunity at Capital University."
Chinese Pianist Blossoms at Capital
It's been a year and a half since Fan Zhang hugged her mother and father goodbye in Dalian, China, and boarded a plane to come to Central Ohio. And while she misses her parents immensely, she is certain she made the right decision to study some 7,000 miles away at Capital's Conservatory of Music.
A sophomore piano performance major who entered Capital in the fall of 2005, Fan is appreciative of the many opportunities she already has had here. In particular, she is appreciative of the opportunity to study with Associate Professor Tianshu Wang.
"Dr. Wang is not only a wonderful professor but also a great person. My parents felt safe and happy sending me far away to Capital when they met her in China. She makes me feel like I have a family here," said Fan.
Like many Chinese children who want to develop a career in music, Fan began studying the piano at age 4. She won her first piano competition at age 9, and at age 12 she auditioned for the middle school associated with Shenyang Conservatory. In juried school competitions, she placed in the top three performers of her class each year. "I wanted to play at a young age. I worked very hard as a child, practicing four or five hours each day." Fan's teacher knew Tianshu Wang and was able to arrange for Fan to play in a master class one summer with Tianshu.
"I felt we worked well together in China," Fan said. "Dr. Wang was hoping I could come here to study at Capital, and I had wanted to come to the United States to study. At first, my parents and I thought maybe I should study at Juilliard, but I chose to come to Capital because of Dr. Wang. She is a fabulous pianist and teacher and she has a background that I can relate to. I feel lucky being close to her."
Fan is one of five piano students from China who have come to study with Tianshu. She believes she already has become a better pianist under the tutelage of Tianshu, and is regularly performing in recitals and competitions.
She also thinks her music studies at Capital perhaps are better rounded than they might be at a Chinese conservatory. Here she is learning more than just how to technically improve her playing of a particular score. She is studying piano literature and piano pedagogy, and the humanities and sciences, in addition to her lessons at the keyboard.
Like a lot of college students, Fan enjoys pasta, ice cream, movies, karaoke, shopping and Harry Potter. She enjoys classical music, particularly the music of Chopin, and likes to listen to pop music. It just so happens that the pop music she listens to is Chinese pop, as she confesses she's not well acquainted with American pop artists.
Fan has plenty of time to learn more about American culture. She plans to attend graduate school – perhaps fulfilling her original dream of going to Juilliard – in America.
"I very much appreciate Capital and like it here. I felt welcome and people here have been very nice to me. Someday I would like to be a professional pianist, or to be a teacher like Dr. Wang.
"Dr. Wang is my inspiration and role model. She is very successful having a balanced career and life. She plays recitals as a concert artist and holds a stable position in the college, and goes back to China to help students there. I see that as my career goal and I will work hard to reach it."
The August issue of China's Piano Artistry magazine features Capital's own Tianshu Wang.