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Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein

Oberline Conservatory Professor Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein explaining musical technique to a person off camera. She is in her office but dressed for a performance, wearing a black beaded top and gold jewelry.

Teaching

Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein taught at more than a dozen prestigious music programs around the world, sharing her passion for pianoforte for more than 30 years. Her longest tenure was as a faculty member at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, where she served as a professor from 1976 to 2012.

Faculty Profile

Watch to hear Sedmara explain her methodology and philosophy for teaching piano at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Silk Fabric

Sedmara's Student Testimonials

"My first semester here in Oberlin was very exciting for me, and my experience studying in your class was really amazing."

Teaching Philosophy

Close-up of Oberlin Conservatory Professor Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein in her office.

I do not believe in a "one-size-fits-all" approach. My teaching methodology recognizes individual differences in student abilities, temperaments, needs, and backgrounds.

My views, based on a long concert stage career, inform critique of a student's performance. Students should perform as often as possible in suitable venues, such as recitals, public performances of both chamber and solo repertoire, and, of course, in national and international competitions.

Sedmara Zakarian Rutstein
Professor of Pianoforte

Sedmara's Teaching Appointments

The following is a list of universities, conservatories, and festivals where Sedmara taught to develop the next generation of pianists.

The Oberlin Conservatory of Music building in Oberlin, Ohio.

Oberlin Conservatory of Music Oberlin, OH

Professor Emeritus of Pianoforte

2012 – present

Professor of Pianoforte, tenured

1976 – 2012

Simpson College's main building in Indianola, Iowa.

Simpson College

Indianola, IA

Visiting Artist and Professor

1975 – 1976

Carnegie Hall at Grinnell College in Iowa.

Grinnell College

Grinnell, IA

Artist-in-Residence

1974 – 1976

Main building of the Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) State Conservatory in the USSR (now Russia).

Leningrad State Conservatory

Leningrad (St. Petersburg), USSR

Faculty Member

1962 – 1973

Main building of the Shanghai Conservatory in the People's Republic of China.

Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

Visiting Professor

1990, 1992, and 1995

The main building of Central Conservatory located in Beijing, People's Republic of China.

Central Conservatory

Beijing, People's Republic of China

Visiting Professor

1992

The main building associated with the International Music Festival in Casalmaggiore, Italy.

Oberlin at Casalmaggiore

Casalmaggiore International Music Festival, Casalmaggiore, Italy

Faculty Member

1998 – 2012

Statue of Rimsky-Korsakov in front of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory that bears his name and is associated with the International Conservatory Week Festival in Russia.

The International Conservatory Week Festival

at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory

Saint Petersburg, Russia

Faculty Member

2003 – 2005

Master Classes, Competitions, and Publications

Competition Juries
(partial list)

International American Scholarship Competition, Cincinnati, OH

International Competition, Midland/Odessa, TX

International Piano Competition, New Orleans, LA

Member of the Screening Committee for R. Cassadesus International Piano Competition, Cleveland, OH

pink musical notes

blue musical notes

Master Classes
& Workshops
(partial list)

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Oregon State University, Portland, OR

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Loyola University, New Orleans, LA

St. Petersburg’s Conservatory, Russia

Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, PRC

Shanghai State Conservatory of Music, PRC

Casalmaggiore International Music Festival, Italy

Lectures
(at various music schools)

“Piano Technique”

“The Art of Pedaling Piano”

“Music of Scriabin”

“Timing as Artistic Means in Piano Performance”

Publications

Rutstein, S. Z. (2007). Piano arrangement of M. Ravel "La Valse." Phantom Publications.

Zaitseva, T., Rutstein, S.Z., and Smirnov, V. (2007). Offering to Nadezhda Golubovskaya. Composizitor Publishing House.

Publications

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