Grace Martin
Adjunct Instructor: Functional Keyboard
A native of Fairbanks, Alaska, Grace Martin began her long-term relationship with music as a five-year-old piano student. She earned her Bachelors of Arts in Music and Russian Language at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, studying under Dr. Kathryn Ananda-Owens. Soon after, Grace was awarded a graduate assistantship at the University of Idaho, where she studied under Dr. Eneida Larti and received her Masters of Music in piano pedagogy and performance. Grace has performed in a variety of professional settings including regional repertoire theaters and business establishments, exhibiting her skill in classical solo and collaborative piano works, jazz ensembles and solo settings, and in solo recital, in addition to a pedagogical lecture on improvisation at the piano. She is in the midst of finishing her first album of original songs for voice and piano, "Songs from the Adirondacks," funded by a substantial grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
This year, Grace also received a scholarship to attend the Vermont Jazz Center's Summer Jazz Workshop in Putney, VT. As a performer Grace brings not only her sense of artistry in jazz and other improvisatory styles, but also a classical expertise and warm collaborative persona. She has flourished as a piano teacher, establishing studios in Northern Idaho, Syracuse, and various communities around the north country of New York. Her pedagogy focuses on student expression and healthy technique, as well as strong musical fundamentals in notated and improvised styles, emphasizing comprehension through theory and intervallic reading. Grace now resides in beautiful Potsdam, NY, and teaches functional piano at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.