Roberta Rust B.M., P.C., M.M., D.M.A.

Professor–piano

Roberta Rust

WhyLynn

Piano study at Lynn is a golden opportunity to follow your unique path of artistic development. Students can fully unleash their solo piano and chamber music potential in the Conservatory's performance-oriented curriculum under the guidance of supportive faculty, motivated colleagues, and a caring community. The award-winning piano studio of Roberta Rust consists of an inspired group of highly accomplished young pianists from around the world.

Professional profile

Dr. Roberta Rust has concertized to critical acclaim around the globe, with performances in venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, New York's Merkin Concert Hall, Rio de Janeiro's Sala Cecilia Meireles, Washington's Corcoran Gallery, Havana’s Basilica and Seoul's KNUA Hall. Hailed for her recordings on the Navona, Centaur and Protone labels, Rust appeared with the Lark, Ying, Serafin, Amernet and Fine Arts String Quartets and at Miami's Mainly Mozart Festival, the Philippines Opusfest, the Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival, Festival Miami, Long Island's Beethoven Festival and France's La Gesse. Her concerto appearances have included engagements with the Houston Symphony, New World Symphony, Philippine Philharmonic, New Philharmonic, Redlands Symphony, Boca Raton Symphonia, Knox-Galesburg Symphony, Frederick Symphony, Bismarck-Mandan Symphony, Lynn Philharmonia and orchestras in Latin America. She served as Artistic Ambassador for the United States, awarded a major National Endowment for the Arts grant, and also received recognition and prizes from the Organization of American States, National Society of Arts & Letters, and International Concours de Fortepiano (Paris).

Rust serves as artist faculty-piano/professor and head of the piano department at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music, where she received the "Deanne and Gerald Gitner and Family Excellence in Teaching Award." She has given master classes at Northwestern University, the San Francisco Conservatory, the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, and throughout Asia and the Americas. Rust has been presented in performances and master classes at the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, the Manila International Piano Masterclasses Festival, the University of Florida International Piano Festival and the Fondation Bell'Arte International Certificate for Piano Artists program. She has served as a competition adjudicator for the New World Symphony, the Chautauqua and Brevard Festivals, and the Colburn School's Music Academy.

Rust studied at the Peabody Conservatory, graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin, and earned performer's certificates in piano and German Lieder from the Mozarteum in Salzburg. A student of Ivan Davis, Artur Balsam, John Perry, and Phillip Evans, she received a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a doctorate from the University of Miami. Master class studies were completed with Gary Graffman, Leon Fleisher, Carlo Zecchi, and Erik Werba.

Education

  • B.M., University of Texas at Austin
  • P.C., Mozarteum-Salzburg
  • M.M., Manhattan School of Music
  • D.M.A., University of Miami

Teaching philosophy

Roberta Rust's teaching philosophy incorporates extemporaneous, traditional, and process methodologies. The extemporaneous style –“improvisatory, spontaneous, and non-directive – aims to foster a sense of wonder and discovery. The traditional, passing on specific interpretive ideas and techniques, employs a direct approach using clear models and extensive demonstration. The teaching of process focuses on the development and gradual unfolding of an interpretive personality by relaying general concepts of style and technique and combines directive and non-directive approaches. Additionally, she encourages students to define external goals and develop the internal motivation needed to achieve them.

Teaching specialties

  • Applied piano (undergraduate and graduate levels)
  • Chamber music

Awards and honors

  • Deanne and Gerald Gitner and Family Excellence in Teaching Award (Lynn University)
  • Artistic Ambassador for the United States
  • National Endowment for the Arts Grant Recipient
  • Organization of American States Competition Winner
  • National Society of Arts & Letters Scholarship Recipient (Washington, D.C.)
  • International Concours de Fortepiano (Paris)