NEPTA Speaker Series: Scott Price

Join Dr. Scott Price for an inside look at students with autism and other neurodiverisites as they navigate the learning process during the piano lesson. The diagnostic criteria of autism will be discussed, and how they may be used to adapt or reframe teaching to meet the needs of students who may view and interact with the world in different ways. Management of behaviors will be discussed, as well as routines for helping students with autism feel comfortable and safe in the lesson environment. Specific teaching approaches for music reading and music counting will be demonstrated through videos of students at work in the lesson. Students with multiple learning challenges including vision impairments, varying levels of autism, ADHD, developmental delays, and fine and gross motor skill delays will demonstrate that they can achieve excellence in learning repertoire and in creative music making despite their unique challenges. Questions from attendees will be welcomed.

Scott Price currently serves as Carolina Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of South Carolina School of Music. He is internationally recognized for his work with students with autism and other special needs and has presented solo recitals and workshops for universities and organizations on six continents including 46 United States and the District of Columbia. Dr. Price is the author of “Autism and Piano Study: A Basic Teaching Vocabulary” and numerous collections and sheet music solos published by TOMGEROUMUSIC.COM. He is the creator and served for 23 years as editor-in-chief of the on-line piano pedagogy journal Piano Pedagogy Forum, has recorded 39 compact discs of educational piano music for Alfred Publishing Company, published educational piano compositions with Alfred Publishing Company and FJH Music Company. Awards include the Best of BGSU Outstanding Graduate alumnus award from Bowling Green State University in 2002, the 2008 MTNA Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award, being named a 2009 Music Teachers National Association Foundation Fellow, the 2012 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award for the University of South Carolina, the 2019 Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy Outstanding Service Recognition Award, the 2023 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the 2023 Teacher of the Year award from the South Carolina Music Teachers Association. Dr. Price is the founder and director of the Carolina LifeSong Initiative dedicated to providing piano lesson and music experiences for students with special needs, and in fostering best practices in teaching and teacher training.

This Speaker Series Event for New England Piano Teachers' Association will take place on Zoom. Please register to receive a zoom link.