Dr. Steven L. Havens (Piano) earned a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin, and his PhD from the University of Iowa. Dr. Havens also studied at the Hochschule fA?r Musik [Mozarteum] in Salzburg, Austria as a Rotary International Scholar. Principal areas of academic concentration include piano performance, collaborative piano, and piano pedagogy. Primary instructors include Michael Campbell, Danielle Martin, and Ren Lecuona. Dr. Havens holds membership in Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. Dr. Havens was selected to participate in the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas, as well as the Vienna International Masterclasses in Austria. He has performed in Austria, Germany, France, England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. He has served on the piano faculty of the University of Iowa All-State Music Camp, has been affiliated with Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and served as a teaching assistant at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in Michigan. Dr. Havens is currently a member of the piano faculty at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, where he was named one of the outstanding faculty members in 2005. For further information, please visit stevehavens.net
Teaching Philosophy:
“It is my sincere commitment to offer my students all I can to inspire outstanding performance and skill development in a manner that is inviting, accessible, and meaningful. As an instructor of piano, my primary objective lies in helping to foster and cultivate in each of my students his or her highest capacity in confident, expressive, imaginative, and intelligent music making. Success in music study – both in process and outcome – is dependent upon a number of factors, among them: thoughtful planning, effective communication, constructive guidance, creativity, and good humor on the part of both student and instructor.
Over several years of teaching, my students have taken part in a number of solo and concerto competitions. In addition to local and regional contests and events, these include: the Tuesday Morning Music Club Competition, the World Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition. My students have also attended programs such as the Credo Chamber Music Program at Oberlin College, the National Music Camp at Interlochen, and the University of Texas at Austin Summer Workshop for High School Pianists. Students have gone on to distinguished educational institutions such as Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, Elmhurst College, Wheaton College, Michigan State University, and Indiana University, among others.”