Shenandoah Conservatory announces the appointment of Heidi Hau, M.M., as assistant professor of piano performance beginning August 2024. She succeeds Assistant Professor of Piano Alexander Bernstein ’16 (Artist Diploma), D.M., who was recently appointed to the faculty of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin.
“As a teacher, I take enormous joy and feel a deep responsibility in nurturing and developing the next generation of musicians,” said Hau. “But it is my deepest desire to not just impart knowledge but also empower students with ingenuity, creativity, and adaptability so that they may have the confidence to forge new paths in an ever-changing musical landscape.”
Hau is the founding artistic director of the Marilyn Mindell Piano Competition, held annually at Stanford University since 2005. Prior to joining Shenandoah Conservatory, she was on the faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for 17 years.
“We are very excited to welcome Heidi Hau to our piano faculty,” said Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, Chair of Keyboard Division and Professor of Piano John O’Conor, Mus.D. “Heidi brings a wealth of experience having spent 15 years teaching at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and having won major prizes at international piano competitions. She also excited us with imaginative suggestions for innovative developments for the conservatory which I will be encouraging her to achieve.”
A graduate of Stanford University as an English major, she was one of eight recipients awarded the Deans’ Award for Academic Excellence. Hau was selected nationally as one of two Fulbright Scholars for graduate study in Ireland. She completed her master’s degree with a First Class Honors in piano performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music under the director, Dr. O’Conor.
Hau was awarded prizes in international piano competitions such as the 2002 Naumburg International Piano Competition in New York, the 2003 AXA Dublin International Piano Competition, and the 2004 China International Piano Competition.
Hau has performed internationally at renowned venues including the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wiener Saal in Salzburg, Salle Cortot in Paris, San Juan Bautista in Gijon, Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, ZK Matthews Great Hall in Pretoria, Carnegie Recital Hall and Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has performed with orchestras all over the world, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Monterey Symphony, American Philharmonic, Peninsula Symphony and Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra. Esteemed San Francisco Bay Area music critic Lyn Bronson noted that, “[w]hile Argerich, Michelangeli and Kissin have performed the same piece [Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D], Hau’s sparkling performance with such lovely and subtle gradations of rhythmic and dynamic expression surpassed them all.”
With a deep desire to share her extensive knowledge and experience as a founding competition director, a judge and a former prize winner on the international competition circuit, Hau has been sought after as a consultant offering guidance and insight in developing and expanding other competitions. She successfully developed and directed over 50 workshops that brought classical music into the classrooms of elementary schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. She continues to advise the next generation of emerging talent with repertoire choices and career opportunities to prepare them for the world stage.
