Professor
Piano | Literature
E-Mail: robert.groves@ndsu.edu
Office: 215 Music Education Building
Degrees
- Ph.D., University of Iowa
- M.F.A., University of Iowa
- M.A., University of Iowa
- B.A., San Diego State University
Dr. Robert Groves has been a member of the North Dakota State University faculty since 1972. His principle piano teachers were Arthur Lambert and John Simms with additional study with Joanna Graudan and Vitya Veronsky. His teaching specialities are studio piano, piano pedagogy, chamber music, and music history. He also maintains a private studio of pre-college age piano students ranging in age from early elementary school through late high school.
As a member of the piano faculty at NDSU, Dr. Groves has been an active performer, clinician, adjudicator, and author. These include serving as coordinator of piano studies at the International Music Camp for over 25 years, numerous lecture/performances through the North Dakota Humanities Council and the Institute for Regional Studies, summer piano teacher workshops, and guest appearances for many of the regional music teacher associations. A number of his university, as well as pre-college, piano students have been finalists or winners of piano competitions. His approach to teaching piano pedagogy is based on the concept of "applied" pedagogy, in which he places particular focus on solutions to specific playing challenges (technical, musical, performance-oriented, etc) commonly encountered by piano students. Dr. Groves also has been highly successful in helping pianists at all playing levels to understand and eventually eliminate recurring tendonitis in their playing.
His current research interests include:
- Repetitive tendon stress in pianists and computer users
- 19th-century American piano pedagogy
- North Dakota composers and imprints
- Tin Pan Alley song sheet literature
Dr. Groves’ publications include two articles in the New Grove Dictionary of Music in the United States.
