Junko Uchida Rutkowski

B. S. Music Education, Hiroshima University

M. M. Piano Performance, eastern Michigan University

Junko began her piano study in Japan at an early age and completed her undergraduate work in Music Education, focused on piano performance with a minor in violin. In America, her graduate study with Joseph Gurt was centered on his expertise in the Dorothy Taubman method, which is a methodology that emphasises the correlation between physical efficiency and musical expression. One of the concepts of the Taubman method, "piano playing should not be a physical suffering" has deeply influenced her performance and teaching today. Her teaching focuses on how to make piano playing with ease to give a performer more freedom. While in graduate school, she won the Concerto Competition, and was also awarded the Graduate Performance Award. She is an in-demand collaborative pianist, accompanying extensively at IPFW (Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne) and for many years for the Indiana State School Music Association Solo and Ensemble Competitions (ISSMA).

A unique option with the Woodruff Piano Studio is the option for blended study of traditional classical instruction with jazz/pop/improvision.