Dr. Paul Wirth – piano
Dr. Paul Wirth is a prominent figure in our national piano teaching community. With his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Temple University, and his Master and Doctorate degrees in Piano Performance from Indiana University, he co-founded and is now the Artistic Director of the Wirth Center for the Performing Arts in St. Cloud, MN, a bustling performing arts center with 300 students taught by a faculty of twenty. He has also been on the faculty of the University of Northwestern, MN as Artist in Residence.
Chosen as the 2004-05 Teacher of the Year by Thursday Musical, and inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame, Dr. Wirth has taught numerous first prize-winning students of regional, national and international competitions – with thirty-eight of his pre-college students having performed over eighty solo performances with orchestra, including appearances with the Minnesota and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestras.
In addition to his presentations at conventions and conferences, Dr. Wirth’s GRAVI-DVD – a cutting edge DVD on teaching piano technique to children – is available on Youtube, with the long awaited Gravi-DVD II now being distributed everywhere. His masterclasses, most recently at the Suzuki Music School of Westport Connecticut, the Northern Ohio Music Teachers Association, and the Minnesota Music Teachers Association 2019 Convention are always well received, and his presentations, drawing upon 38 years as a pre-college specialist teaching advanced concepts to 4 -18 year olds, often elicit further engagements. This past January, he was featured in a guest artist tutorial on the wildly popular ProPractice YouTube channel of Dr. Josh Wright.
Wirth is also an avid supporter of young performers, having co-founded the Salon se Lève concert series in Minneapolis and the internationally recognized Young Artist Piano Camp, summers in Minnesota. Wirth devotes his time to teaching young artists, presenting at conventions, conferences and piano teacher organizations, giving masterclasses, teaching teachers, publishing pedagogical materials, and practicing! Dr. Wirth maintains three studios: at the Wirth Center for the Performing Arts in St. Cloud, MN, at the Schmitt Music Center in Brooklyn Center, MN, and at his home in St. Joseph, MN where he lives with his wife and greatest support, Kathy.