About the Teacher

Sibylle Kuder

Sibylle Kuder, in her Manhattan studio

My name is Sibylle Kuder. I was born and raised in Germany. From age 12 until about 19, I studied piano with the Hungarian pianist Barbara Fry at the Winnender Jugendmusikschule. Our piano class benefitted from collaborations with composers, chamber musicians, and her husband, Thomas Ungar, professor of conducting at the Stuttgarter Staatliche Musikhochschule. Frau Professor Fry recently retired from the Heidelberg Staatliche Musikhochschule where she was professor of piano and pedagogy. After Hungarian pianist and composer Andras Hamary prepared me for the college entrance exam I was accepted at the Trossingen Staatliche Musikhochschule where I studied Piano Performance and Pedagogy. While still in Germany, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend masterclasses with such eminent musicians as Bruno Seidlhofer (Interpretation masterclass), Vienna; Elza Kolodin (Chopin masterclass) and Edith Picht-Axenfeld (Bach masterclass), Freiburg/Breisgau.

After moving to the United States, I attended the Graduate Program (Piano Performance and Pedagogy) at Kansas State University, studying piano performance with Robert Edwards, and piano pedagogy with Virginia Houser. After winning the 1995 Concerto Competion, I was given the honor of performing with the Kansas State University orchestra in McCain auditorum. I continue to attend numerous master classes, workshops, conferences and conventions. Additionally, my interest in Early Childhood Music and Movement led me to study with Jill Citro Hannagan in Chicago. I am certified to teach "Family Music" and "The Cycle of Seasons," both of which are early childhood music and movement education programs of the Musikgarten Curriculum.

For many years, I have been involved in the MAMTA-sponsored Music Fair and Concerto Competition (chairperson) and KMTA District and State Honors Auditions, as well as Music Progressions (chairperson, adjudicator).

Currently, I am a member of the:

I have over the past 20 years taught all ages and levels, including pre-piano classes for which I designed the materials myself, and non-major piano classes in the Music Department at Kansas State University, in addition to private and group lessons for school-aged children and for adults.

Until relocating to the Kansas City area in the Summer of 2007, I taught between 20 and 30 piano students in my studio in Manhattan. Half of these students, who were between the ages of 6 and 24, had been with me since they first started lessons, some for over seven years.

I have consistently been able to provide dedicated students with the preparation necessary to compete successfully at local and state competitions and auditions, among them the Baldwin Piano Competition in Overland Park, the Manhattan Area Music Teachers Annual Piano Concerto Competition, the KCMTA-sponsored Concerto Recital in Kansas City, and the Konza Opus 8 Composition Festival in Manhattan.

I enjoy teaching all ages and levels, but I do require substantial parental involvement until students are at least 10 years old; even parents of older students are always welcome to sit in on lessons. Particular attention is given to a natural and injury-free technique and to thorough mastery of all studied materials.