USU piano primer is going national

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LOGAN - It proved instrumental in helping hundreds of Cache Valley youngsters learn the piano.

Now it's going national.

The keyboard curriculum used in Utah State University's Youth Conservatory program has been snatched up by a leading music publisher, Kjos Publications.

Back in the late 1980s, three USU students - Laura Zisette, Charlene Zundel and Kathleen Lloyd - sat around a kitchen table and developed the materials for "Keyboard Gymnastic."

All three were music majors and piano teachers for the Youth Conservatory.

"We thought we should have a program that was more complete and a curriculum that would follow them over the years," said Lloyd, a Smithfield resident who remains active in the conservatory community. "It was a whole lot of work, and we did it quickly. We revised and improved it several times."

Today, that curriculum is fast becoming a national standard for teaching musicianship, said Brooke Reynolds, artistic director of the Youth Conservatory.

USU has a reputation for turning out fine pianists who enjoy successful music careers, added Gary Amano, USU's director of piano studies.

They come from all over the world - Italy, Spain, Armenia - and throughout the United States to study at the Logan school. But many of the top performers tickled their first ivories in the Youth Conservatory's piano program when they were youngsters.

Amano founded the Youth Conservatory's piano program in 1978 for USU music majors to gain experience as teachers. Each year, the college students provide faculty-supervised piano lessons to more than 300 Cache Valley residents of all ages and abilities - to the delight of parents and pupils alike.

"I'm very proud of the growth that has taken place," Amano said, "and the support that comes from the community."

abrunson@sltrib.com