Paul Pollei
Paul Cannon Pollei (May 9, 1936 – July 18, 2013) was an American piano musician and member of the piano faculty at Brigham Young University (BYU). He was an international ambassador for piano music, as well as a frequent lecturer and teacher. Pollei wrote about piano pedagogy and instruction for various professional journals in the United States and authored two books on the subject.[1]
Paul Pollei | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | May 9, 1936 Salt Lake City, Utah, US |
| Died | July 18, 2013 (aged 77) |
| Genres | Classical |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Associated acts | American Piano Quartet |
Early life and education
Paul Pollei was born on May 9, 1936, to Eric and Emily Cannon Pollei in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2] He began studying the piano at age five and played throughout his youth.[3] Pollei attended East High School, and completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Utah.[2] Following his graduation, Pollei attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York to earn a Master's degree and taught general music and theory at Carthage Central School.[4] Pollei received his Ph.D. at Florida State University in 1975, and later spent time at the Sherwood Music School in Chicago, Illinois.[2]
Career
In 1976, Pollei founded the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation and served as its director until his retirement in 2013.[5] The foundation sponsors various piano festivals and international competitions, including the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, which is now the second-largest piano competition in the United States.[2][1][6] The competition originally began as the BYU Summer Piano Festival and International Competition, and in 1980 was renamed after a longtime Utah Symphony pianist and was moved from Provo to Salt Lake City.[7]
Pollei was a member of the advisory boards of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the United Nations International Education Board, and the National Piano Foundation, and served as a jury member for various national and international piano competitions.[1][2][8] He was also very active throughout his life with the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy and the World Federation of Music Competitions.[2][1][5] Pollei was a faculty member for the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in St. George, Utah,[9] and also served as founding music faculty member and advisor for the music faculty at the Waterford School in Sandy, Utah.[1]
Throughout his career, Pollei presented workshops, lectures and master classes to pianists both in the United States and internationally.[2][1] Pollei was a long-time member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). His work with the MTNA included serving on the National Certification Commission, and in 2009 he was named an MTNA Foundation Fellow.[5][10] He was also awarded the Madeleine Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Arts in Utah in 2002.[11]
Pollei was the author of Pedagogical Tips for Piano Teaching in 1969 and Essential Technique for the Pianist: An Organized and Systematic Method of Teaching Piano Technique in 1996.[5][1]
Affiliation with BYU
Pollei was the coordinator of graduate keyboard studies and a member of the piano faculty at BYU for over forty years, retiring in 2001.[5][1] While at BYU, Pollei was a co-founder and member of the American Piano Quartet, a group which utilizes two pianos and eight hands in order to play complex pieces.[2][12] The quartet was first formed in 1984 when the grandmother of one of Pollei's students gave him a piece designed to be played by four pianists.[13] The group has performed in concerts in the United States and has continued an active career following Pollei's death.[1]
Pollei made various donations to the BYU Library which are now housed in The Paul Pollei Piano Collection, a collection of over 6,000 piano music scores—including many foreign and scholarly editions—located in the Music and Dance section of the library. This collection interfaces with past donations made by Pollei to the library. The collection includes around 5,000 LP sound recordings, an estimated 300 books, and thousands of piano pedagogical resources, as well as some personal papers of Pollei himself and of Gina Bachauer.[1]
Personal life
Pollei was married to Norene Barrus on June 24, 1960 in the Salt Lake Temple, and together the couple had two children.[2] Pollei was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a ward bishop, a Primary pianist, and as a missionary in France and Belgium.[2] He died on July 18, 2013 at the age of 77.[5]
References
- Layton, Myrna. "Subject Guides: Music: Paul Pollei Piano Collection". guides.lib.byu.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "Paul Cannon Pollei Obituary (2013) Deseret News". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "The Piano Education Page – Artist/Educator Archive Interview – Dr. Paul Pollei". pianoeducation.org. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- "6 Mar 1963, Page 9 - The Post-Standard at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- "Passages: Paul Pollei – ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- "The Bachauer breaks the rules to become the best – ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- "Paul Pollei, founder of Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, dies at 77". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- "20 Sep 1981, 39 - St. Lucie News Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- "Paul Pollei – Piano Competition". pianocompetition.com. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- "Provo Daily Herald | 2009-04-30 | Page 51". newspapers.lib.utah.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- "Gina Bachauer Founder Paul Pollei Will Be Honored – ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
- "American Piano Quartet – Music Group". Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- "Provo Daily Herald | 2009-09-24 | Page 52". newspapers.lib.utah.edu. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
Further reading
Pollei, Paul C. "The Decline of Music in Mormon Culture", Sunstone: Mormon Experience, Scholarship, Issues, and Art, vol. 16:3, issue 89. Salt Lake City, UT: Sunstone Foundation, 1992.