Piano Guilds

Piano Guilds

The word guild refers basically to settlement of people with same or similar occupation, craft and profession. Now-a-days the words guilds and clubs are used interchangeably referring to organizations that promote the interests of like-minded, like-occupied. Piano guilds and clubs are those associations formed by piano enthusiasts and those who hold piano music as their profession and life. They organize competitions and auditions and award prizes to the deserving candidates. Piano guilds and clubs are found all over Europe and America and all over the world.

Activities of Piano Guilds and Clubs:

Like minded pianists come together to organize a guild or club which conducts annual competitions and throughout the year programs. They are a kind of welfare organizations that promote excellence in music. There may not be any natural kinship among the members; what they have is the shared interests and common goals in piano music. Guilds and clubs help a pianist to be in touch with other pianists, to share ideas, to take part in seminars, lectures, competitions, and music festivals. They offer awards of excellence to participants. These competitions and awards function as motivational forces to have specific goals and advance in the profession of piano music. Accuracy, style, technique, tone tempo, interpretation, rhythm, pedaling, dynamics, phrasing, continuity are some of the areas of evaluation while awarding for excellence. Piano guilds give a platform for students and teachers to showcase their talents and learn where they are compared to other best performers. These organizations function as powerful mouthpiece for individual performers.

Some Piano Guilds and Clubs:

National Guild of Piano Teachers in the U.S. is one of the well known guilds which is also the largest nonprofit organization for piano teachers and students in the world. It is part of the American college of Musicians and its work is to provide opportunities and awards of excellence to all levels of piano players. The awards sometimes include scholarships for students. Berkeley Piano Club has a private performance space. It was founded in 1893 and continues to provide venue for a wide range of performers and also for aspiring piano performers to practice and to play. Clara Schumann Club in Alabama began in 1894 and is one of the earliest music clubs in Alabama.

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