This blog post is sponsored by Hall Piano Co.
Born in Morgan City, Louisiana, Adam Mayon’s pianistic interest began at the age of five. Since developing his talent, he has been nationally recognized with top prizes in the National Divisions of the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition and the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Mu- sic, with previous degrees from Eastman School of Music and Loyola University New Orleans. He has studied with internationally-acclaimed pianists and teachers, including Michael Chertock, Soyeon Kate Lee, James Tocco, Douglas Humpherys, John Murphy, Frank Heneghan, and Chan Kiat Lim.
His performance career jumpstarted with a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto in C minor with the Loyola University Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 18. Since then, his professional path has been highlighted with invitations to perform in Dublin, Ireland, Steinway Hall New York City, Lima, Ohio with the Lima Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens, NY, Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, and at piano conferences in several states of the US, including the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy held in Chicago, IL. Other performances include solo/collaborative performances in Long Island, NY as part of Paul Schenly’s PianoFest in the Hamptons and masterclasses with distinguished guest artists such as Robert McDonald, Emanuel Ax, William Bolcom, Enrico Elisi, Logan Skelton, and Nelita True.
In addition to his active performance schedule, his musical passions have led him to pursue a dual path as an educator and researcher. Adam has taught private and group piano courses at both Eastman School of Music and CCM, which gave him opportunities to work with undergraduate and graduate students ranging from beginner to advanced levels and from multiple fields of music study. In terms of research, his passion for correlating fitness with music (inspired by his former position as a certified personal trainer) led to a publication in the MTNA e-Journal entitled “Warming Up for the Warm-Up: A Case for Cardio Before Scales” in its November 2017 issue. Other article publications from Adam have appeared in both the American Music Teachers Journal and MTNA e-Journal. As an active participant in community service and involvement, Adam serves as the President-Elect for the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association and has presented various research topics in several regional MTNA conferences. Adam also acted as a liaison between CCM and a community amateur pianist organization entitled the Keyboard Club of Cincinnati, which enabled him to connect local citizens and music enthusiasts with musicians and teachers at the Conservatory and beyond.
Adam is currently the Coordinator of Piano and Collaborative Piano at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, where he leads all facets of the university’s piano programs. In addition, he and his wife Zi Liang, teacher and collaborative pianist, continue to perform 4 -hand and two-piano works as a piano duo and are the co-developers of A to Z Music Studio, a private music studio created for teaching piano to students of all ages and levels.