By Anne Levin
Pianist Kairy Koshoeva has multiple degrees, awards, and performances on her list of musical accomplishments. But she is as proud of her years of teaching, a decade of which has been based at Kingston’s New School for Music Study, as she is of her appearances with prominent orchestras and international competitions.
“I owe everything to my teachers,” said the native of Kyrgyzstan. “I am so grateful to them all, and I try to teach as they did, with a human touch.”
On Sunday, May 3 at 3 p.m., Koshoeva will perform a recital to benefit the New School for Music Study’s scholarship program at Music Together headquarters, 225 Pennington-Hopewell Road in Hopewell. The concert of works by Chopin, Bach, and Ravel is co-sponsored by the Steinway Society. The event honors the 100th birthday of late professor and scientist G.V. Shlyapnikov, who was the father-in-law of Steinway Society member John Bleimaier, whom Koshoeva has known since judging a Steinway Society piano competition a decade ago.
“Unfortunately, I never got to meet him,” Koshoeva said of Shlyapnikov. “He was a prominent scientist, and he had a tragic time in his life, spending nine years in a labor camp. He collaborated with Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It is quite an honor to play a recital in his memory.”
Koshoeva, who received a Green Card under the “Extraordinary Ability” category several years ago, has been playing since she followed her older sisters to piano lessons at age 7. After completing her studies at the national conservatory in Kyrgyzstan, she earned degrees at the University of Missouri, the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow, and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio. Her list of awards includes the International Piano Competition in Vicenza, Italy; the Rubinstein Competition in Paris; the Rachmaninoff Awards in Moscow; and the Chautauqua Music Festival concerto competition in upstate New York.
The teachers she recalls so fondly include Bella Zubok, Faina Kharmatz, Michael Burshtin, and Lazar Berman, among others. “Each of them had a different approach,” said Koshoeva. “I am so grateful to have met them all. I have Russian, European, and American training. I feel so well-rounded.”
In addition to her work at the New School, Koshoeva teaches privately. The youngest of her students is 4; the oldest is 80-plus.
“I try to inspire them,” Koshoeva said. “You can’t just say ‘do this’ or ‘do that.’ Technique is important, but so is relating on a human level. They have so many activities, and gadgets, and screen time — everything they want, they can get. So inspiration that comes from another human is so important. And you can’t substitute for meeting in person.”
Koshoeva quotes her late friend and New School colleague Marvin Blickenstaff in describing her hopes for her students. “He was my dear friend, and he used to say, ‘I teach and I touch the future.’ You’re shaping that person’s growth,” she said. “Music is a part of their life. Even if they don’t become professional musicians, you hope they will learn to appreciate music and beauty. I truly believe we are all united through music and art.”
Most rewarding are those moments when a student succeeds in conquering a challenging work. “Teaching can be tiring,” Koshoeva said. “But when this little person gets up and plays, and says, ‘I love this piece!’, then you think okay, maybe I’m not wasting my time.”
Admission to the recital is $30. For more information, visit nsmspiano.org.