Kay Zavislak, DMA

Senior Instructor, Piano and Keyboard Skills

About

American pianist Kay Zavislak enjoys a multi-faceted career as a performer, teacher, adjudicator, and clinician.  Spending her formative years in Japan, Ms. Zavislak attended the Toho Gakuen High School of Music, one of the most prestigious conservatories in Japan.  Ms. Zavislak then moved to the U.S. and earned the degrees Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan.

As a performer, Kay Zavislak has given solo recitals and chamber concerts regionally and nationally, in addition to public performances in Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, and Poland. In collaboration with flutist Leonard Garrison and saxophonist Bill Perconti, Ms. Zavislak has also recorded two commercial CDs for Centaur Records. 

In 2001, Ms. Zavislak was named a winner of the concerto competition at the University of Michigan. Her other awards include first prize in the Frances Walton Competition, second prize in the Richardson Young Artist Award Competition, second prize in the All-Tohoku Piano Competition in Japan, and third prize in the William Byrd International Concerto Competition.

Many of Ms. Zavislak’s university and pre-college students have received top prizes and honors in a number of regional piano festivals and competitions, such as the Music Fest Northwest in Spokane, Sonata-Sonatina Festival in Ellensburg, Northern Idaho Piano Festival, Spokane Piano Competition, Music Teachers National Association Idaho State and Washington State Competitions, and MTNA Northwest Regional Competition.

Before joining her family in Bellingham in 2013, Ms. Zavislak was an Assistant Professor of Piano and the Keyboard Area Coordinator at the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton School of Music.  In addition, she has held teaching positions at Schoolcraft College, Albion College, and the University of Michigan. She studied piano under the guidance of Arthur Greene, Logan Skelton, Yoshie Kora, and Miyoko Hamamoto, harpsichord with Edward Parmentier, and organ with Marilyn Mason.