In fall 2004, piano prof Midori Koga started teaching at the Faculty of Music. Since then she has developed and directs the first Canadian MMus and DMA programs in the area of Piano Pedagogy and Performance and she also currently serves as Associate Dean, Graduate Education at the Faculty.
A new knowledge creator, Prof Koga notably published a study on using a Nintendo Wii to improve balance while playing piano.
From Robin Roger’s review at Ludwig Van Toronto:
“Associate Dean of the Faculty of Music, Midori Koga was demonstrating her team’s study of the use of the Nintendo Wii Balance Board to promote the development of awareness of core balance for the purpose of enhancing piano performance. Adults and children were lined up to take a turn standing on the board which showed them an image on a screen of how stable their core was. The premise of the research is that pianists can benefit from developing a strong core by understanding some of the principles of core balance that are central to pursuits such as Aikido.”
Prof Koga is also an avid performer, collaborator, and advocate for contemporary music. She is performing tomorrow night at Koerner Hall with Soundstreams at their Six Pianos performance.
Faculty members and alumni frequently perform with Soundstreams (led by Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney (MMus 1978) and Executive Director Ben Dietschi (MMus 2009)) and this concert is no exception as all performers have U of T Music connections: along with Prof Koga is pianist Stephania Chua (MMus 2006), DMA student pianist Radka Hanáková, percussionist and Professor Emeritus Russell Hartenberger, pianist and instructor Gregory Oh (MMus 1997, BMusPerf 1996), Piano Professor Jamie Parker, and percussionist Ryan Scott (DMA 2015, MMus 1997, BMusPerf 1996).