An internationally recognized authority on piano teaching, Scott McBride Smith is co-author of the widely used college text The Well Tempered Keyboard Teacher. Dr. Smith is Associate Editor of the magazine Clavier Companion, and was Contributing Editor for the magazine Piano & Keyboard. His articles have appeared in Piano Guild Notes and The American Music Teacher.

Scott McBride Smith has given workshops for teachers' groups throughout the U.S., in Asia and South America. He has given workshops for the National Association for Gifted Children. Dr. Smith has appeared on the programs of the 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 MTNA Conferences. He was a commentator at the 2001 National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy, a featured artist at the 2003 Conference and presenter in 2005. He was featured clinician at the 2003 European Piano Teachers Association-UK conference in Winchester and the 2005 Victorian Music Teacher Association (Australia) Summer School in Melbourne.

Dr. Smith has served as Visiting Professor at the Bela Bartok Conservatory in Lima, Peru; at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts; at the Royal Conservatory of Music; and in Taiwan, sponsored by the International Piano Teaching Foundation.

Scott McBride Smith is a respected teacher of prize-winning piano students in Irvine, California. His students have been California State Champions in the years 1988, 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2008. Former students have been First Prize winners in the Naftsger Competition, Tchaikovsky Competition and in competitions of the Music Teachers National Association. Amir Khosrowpour, Dr. Smith’s student for 11 years, was the 2001-2002 Steinway National Collegiate Champion. His former student Jeremy Siskind was the 2002 winner of the ASACAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer award. Students have performed with the San Diego Symphony, the Long Beach, CA Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others.

Dr. Smith received his Masters of Music, Magna cum Laude, from the University of Kansas. His doctorate is from the University of Southern California, where he was co-winner of the Outstanding Graduate in Piano award. He is president (beginning July, 2009) of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers; served as president of the Southwest Division of the Music Teachers National Association and director on the MTNA National Board. He is a member of the European Piano Teachers Association. A certified teacher of early childhood music, he is a member of the Early Childhood Music and Movement Association.

Highlights of her career included tenure as senior piano editor for Kjos Music and director of keyboard publications for Warner Bros. Music (a division of AOL/Time Warner), during which time she served as editor for the landmark text Practical Piano Pedagogy. Gail conducts yearly workshops in the United States and Canada including presentations at the Music Teachers National Association Convention, many of its state affiliates, and the World Piano Pedagogy Conference. In addition to a busy teaching schedule, Gail judges piano competitions at state, national, and international events. Gail has trained students who have been accepted at leading colleges and music conservatories and have been consistently selected to perform at state honors recitals during her more than 25 years of teaching.

Murray Nichol’s varied experiences range from adjudicating and examining to solo and collaborative performances. More recently, in 2007 and 2008, he was a member of the RCM Examinations team that presented workshops across Canada on the new Piano Syllabus, 2008 Edition. In June 2008, he concluded a three-year term on the RCM Examinations’ Council of Examiners (Practical Subjects), which is responsible for setting examining and marking standards across Canada, maintaining quality in the examination process, and selecting new examiners. In addition to conducting workshops and master classes, Mr. Nichol has been involved in a wide array of activities, including the University of British Columbia School of Music Alumni Mentorship Program in which he mentored students embarking upon professional careers. Currently he is a senior faculty member at the Tom Lee Music Learning Centre in Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia, and a Senior Examiner for RCM Examinations, for which he is also a mentor for apprentice examiners. He has adjudicated and examined in several centres in both Canada and the United States. MusiQuest 2011 marks his twenty-seventh festival/competition.Mr. Nichol holds an Associate Diploma (Solo Performer) from the Western Board of Music, a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance (with Greatest Distinction) from Brandon University, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia. He is a member of the British Columbia Registered Music Teachers’ Association, the Music Teachers’ National Association, and the Canadian Music Festival Adjudicators’ Association.

Christopher is in high demand for his unique and creative presentations. He has offered sessions ranging from improvisation coaching for grade-school band teachers to adjudicating non-competitive piano festivals with literally thousands of student entries; from offering personal, intensive Masterclass sessions at all levels to lectures in advanced composition. Everywhere he goes, his fresh and uplifting approach to music never fails to inspire and enlighten all who attend. He has presented in literally dozens of countries around the world, with recent touring taking him from Indonesia to Ireland, Singapore to Serbia, Italy to Interlochen, and Ontario to Oslo.

Born in New Zealand in 1953, Christopher showed early promise as a pianist and composer and gained a first-class honors degree in music from Otago University in 1974. He taught music in Wellington high schools, worked as a Composer-in-Schools for a year and free-lanced as a composer, arranger and pianist.

Christopher came to the UK in 1977 on a New Zealand Governemnt Scholarship. In 1980, he embarked on a free-lance career and within a short time was published, first by Universal Edition, then by Boosey & Hawkes, with whom he has had a long and fruitful association.

Christopher also works as a record producer for a variety of labels, most recently for EMI and Virgin in North America. He also works extensively as a writer of music for television and has made many production music albums. Christopher is also a publisher in his own right, most recently as a founding partner in Novus Via Music Group, the publisher of American Popular Piano.

Mary Tickner has a Master’s Degree in Music from the University of Southern California where she also undertook post graduate doctoral studies. Upon completion of her Master’s Degree, she was elected into the Pi Kappa Lambda National Honorary Society for scholarship. As an undergraduate at the University of Evansville, Indiana, she was the first recipient of the Orr Memorial Scholarship awarded to the outstanding senior student in the graduating class. She has served on the faculty of several American universities including San Jose State University, and the State University of California at Long Beach where she was Associate Professor.

Before her retirement, she was a faculty member in the School of Music, U.B.C. where she taught solo piano, group piano and pedagogical studies for teaching. She now maintains a private studio where she teaches piano and classes in pedagogy from the elementary level to advanced certification.

As a member of the Canadian Federation of Music Adjudicators Association, she has adjudicated festivals and conducted master classes and workshops on various pedagogical topics in Canada, U.S.A. Hong Kong and India.

In addition, she frequently evaluates music and pedagogical material for future publication by several major publishers. At present, she writes a regular column “Pedagogy Forum” for the Vancouver Branch of the Registered Music Teachers in which topics relevant to teaching are discussed . She regularly lectures at the University of British Columbia on learning problems in music and examination preparation. Mrs. Tickner is a member of the B.C. Registered Music Teachers and the Music Teachers National Association.