Patricia Tao named interim Chair for the Department of Music

 The Department of Music has named Patricia Tao interim Chair as of July 1, 2020. A faculty member and piano instructor with the department since 2002, Tao has also served as Associate Chair Undergraduate since 2015.

Originally from Miami, Florida, Tao is an accomplished pianist, having studied in Boston, Massachusetts, Bloomington, Indiana and Stony Brook, New York. While at Stony Brook University, Tao won a position with the graduate piano trio, forming a group that would be coached by many great chamber musicians.

“I developed a great love for chamber music through this experience,” says Tao. “That has been the focus of my research, working mostly with string players in the piano trio literature, as well as sonata, piano quartet and quintet literature.”

Despite taking the helm during these unprecedented times, Tao is confident in the resiliency of her colleagues and their dedication to the students.

“We want to make sure that we are giving our students the best possible instruction and experience possible, which is particularly challenging in the performing arts,” she says. “ I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Department to make sure we do everything possible to make this a reality.”

A founding member of the Guild Trio, Tao leads an active career as performer, teacher, and concert organizer. As pianist of the prizewinning Guild Trio, she performed throughout the United States and Europe and was awarded the position of Trio-in-Residence at the Tanglewood Music Centre. As a soloist, Tao toured Europe and the United States as an Artistic Ambassador under the auspices of the United States Information Agency (USIA) and for Columbia Artist’s Community Concerts series.

In addition to her love of music, Tao has been a practitioner of Iyengar yoga for the last 12 years, and you can often find her walking and biking in the River Valley with her Whippet dog Ollie.