Music has always been a love of Clara Park’s life.
“My parents were very much into classical music. My father played the violin, and my mother played the piano — just for fun,” said Park, who was recently inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame.
Park’s love of the piano led her to pursue music as a career path. She’s performed with multiple chamber music groups and orchestras throughout the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe. She even did a solo tour of China.
She received her doctorate in musical arts from Yale University and her bachelor and master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory. She’s an adjunct professor at Augusta University, where she teaches piano and music theory
She’s spent more than 30 years as a music instructor and has taught beginners to advanced students in her career.
Teaching piano is different than teaching in a classroom, she said, and for some students, that lesson may be the only time they receive one-on-one instruction from a teacher.
Park said she “treasures” those times with her students. She’s able to get to know them and to share her love of the piano.
“This fall, 44 teachers from the United States and Canada were inducted into the Steinway Teacher Hall of Fame with special events hosted at the historic Steinway factory in New York City. Each teacher inducted into the Hall of Fame was nominated by a Steinway & Sons showroom in the teacher’s home region. The teachers’ names are now displayed on a commemorative display wall inside the iconic factory,” according to a news release from Steinway & Sons.
Park said she was honored to be named to the hall of fame.
Touring the company was a thrill for Park, who has a special love of the Steinway-made instrument.
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She has three antique Steinways in her home, the youngest of the three is a 1927 Stretch A3.
“It has soul and the depth an older instrument,” she said.
This year’s induction was the second since Steinway & Sons started the program in 2019.
Lisa Turner Maddox, the owner of Turner’s Keyboards on Washington Road, nominated Park for the award. Maddox has known Park for many years, and in a way considered it a “no brainer” to nominate her for the award.
However, she said the Augusta-area has a wealth of musical instructors who’ve made significant contributions, so that made it a little more difficult. Maddox said she will nominate another area teacher in two years when the awards will be presented again.
“Steinway is very appreciative of and dedicated to the teaching community,” Maddox said. “They really know how valuable they are.”
Park will be in concert with several musicians next month for Concerts with a Cause. She will join organist Mark Dickens; pianist Martin David Jones (Park’s husband); violinist Anastasia Petrunina; percussionist, Denis Petruin; and violist Arthur Ross in “A Musical Friendsgiving” at 3 p.m., Nov. 21, at St. John United Methodist Church.
The featured charity for that event will be Boys With a Future.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
