introduction
Dr. Jason Terry is an artist who desires to create art that moves. Whether performing a solo piano recital in Paris, playing keys for a K-Pop song in Seoul, or sharing a commissioned work in Carnegie Hall, Jason strives to make each opportunity meaningful to those sharing in the art. As a passionate teacher, he hopes to impart these same desires on to his students, too.
biography
Praised for his “passion and commitment” at the keyboard, Jason Terry has given performances throughout North America, Asia, and Europe as both a soloist and collaborative pianist. His performances have been broadcast on NPR stations from border to border. During the 2022—23 season, he will appear throughout the U.S. including Carnegie Hall & the Peabody Institute. In addition to live performances, he was recently invited to serve as a recording artist for Steinway’s Spirio piano and is a recording artist for a forthcoming music theory textbook which promotes diverse examples of literature. An artist-teacher, he continues to serve as a piano faculty member for the world-renowned Interlochen Arts Camp and has been on faculty for the Beijing International Music Festival as a master teacher. He is an enthusiast of arts advocacy, especially in matters of social and cultural diplomacy. Since 2017, he has been affiliated with the NGO American Voices and has traveled to teach and perform throughout the Middle East. Moreover, recent grants have supported his work using art to fight against social injustices such as human trafficking.
Aside from teaching and performing, Terry is interdisciplinary in his research. Since 2020, he has worked with physical therapist Dana Daniel Blake (DPT) to create resources for pianists to better understand the musculoskeletal system and how it most efficiently operates while sitting at the piano. So unique is this research that it was selected for presentation at the 2021 national conference of the American Physical Therapy Association and the 2022 Performing Arts Medicine Association’s International Symposium. Moreover, this research earned him the 2022 Innovator of the Year national award from Physical Therapy Learning Institute. Alongside his interest in the physical requirements needed to play the piano is his work with the physical instrument itself. Since 2020, Terry has been an apprentice in the piano technology field and is currently working towards earning the Registered Piano Technician (RPT) credential. Merging physical performance techniques and a comprehension of the mechanics of the instrument is the basis for a graduate piano pedagogy course he has developed.
Jason remains active as a music researcher and writer and continues to present and publish throughout the world. During this past year, he has received invitations to present and perform on a range of diverse topics such as “Genderism & the Arts” (University of Gothenburg-Sweden), “Music & Cultural Diplomacy” (Tampa, FL), and “The Solo Piano Literature of Hazel Scott” (University of Arizona). Since 2018, Jason has authored and published biographies for Steinway & Sons’ Immortal Artists. (See an example here.) His scholarship in the field of piano performance history is extensive, and portions were recently included in the Carnegie Hall archives. Furthermore, his investigation on the origin of the plagal-amen cadence has been accepted for presentation at several prestigious institutions around the world including Oxford University.
Dr. Jason Terry, a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM) is currently Associate Professor of Piano at Samford University where he was serves as Director of Keyboard Studies.