SDSU music faculty member Stevens receives state leadership award

The Music Teachers National Association has honored South Dakota State University’s Mark Stevens as the recipient of the 2026 Gary L. Ingle State Leadership Service Award.

Stevens was recognized at the 2026 Music Teachers National Association National Conference, held March 21-25, in Chicago, Illinois. This award was established in 2024 by Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz in honor of Gary L. Ingle’s retirement as CEO of the association after 28 years of service.

Stevens, who serves as director of keyboard studies and assistant professor of piano at SDSU, enjoys a dynamic career as a solo pianist, collaborative artist, teacher and adjudicator. His experience as a pianist ranges from traditional piano repertoire to contemporary music, with a focus on works written in the past 50 years.

An active commissioner, he recently performed the world premieres of 10 new pieces composed by a wide range of early- to mid-career American-identifying composers, all written to be playable by an advanced amateur pianist. In recital, he engages audiences through thematic programming, juxtapositions of unique repertoire, and colorful insights about music, composers and cultural context.

A committed teacher for 25 years, Stevens has repeatedly been awarded for the quality of his instruction. His students have won dozens of prizes in competitions and gone on to enjoy further success in professional teaching, graduate studies and university music programs. He is regularly invited to adjudicate and teach throughout the United States, offering master classes and workshops for universities, professional organizations, private studios and music academies. As president of the South Dakota Music Teachers Association, he is active in service to his profession at the state level and beyond.

Stevens holds graduate degrees in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the University of Oregon and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He completed his undergraduate studies in piano performance at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington.

He has served as a member of the faculty at Washington State University, the University of Oregon, the Chopin Academy of Music and as a visiting instructor at Cornish College of the Arts. His primary teachers include Dean Kramer, Paul Barnes, Peter Mack, David Riley and Judith Schoepflin.

The Music Teachers National Association is a nonprofit organization of independent and collegiate music teachers committed to furthering the art of music through teaching, performance, composition and scholarly research. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest professional music teacher association in the United States.