Music Department Faculty

Thomas Otten
Professor

Office: 216 Hill Hall
Email: totten@email.unc.edu
Phone: 919-843-4629

Thomas Otten has been hailed by the New York Times as “an extremely original player who puts a formidable technique at the service of his ideas.” He has appeared in recital and as orchestral soloist in such venues as the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the National Press Club, the German Embassy, and the Chautauqua and Brevard Summer Festivals; he has also performed at Severance Hall with the Miami String Quartet. His performances have been broadcast on both coasts, including WQXR New York, WGMS Washington, and KUSC Los Angeles. He has concertized in Germany numerous times, including a television performance and a debut at the Gasteig in Munich.

Dr. Otten has been the recipient of numerous national and international prizes, including first prize in the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, the Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition, the International Masters Piano Competition, and the USIA Artistic Ambassador Competition. As a result of the latter, he represented the U.S. in a three-week concert tour of the Caribbean. From 1991 to 1998, Dr. Otten was a member of the California Arts Council's prestigious Touring Artist Roster, performing recitals and giving residencies throughout the state. This led to his expertise in the area of self-management/marketing, and the exploration of highly diverse repertoire, including jazz and ragtime.

A student of master teachers John Perry and Nelita True, Dr. Otten holds performance degrees from the University of Southern California (DMA, MM) and the University of Maryland, College Park (BM, summa cum laude). He twice received USC's Podolsky Prize, awarded annually to the outstanding keyboard performer. Dr. Otten has also studied collaborative performance with Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Martin Katz.

Dr. Otten currently chairs the piano division at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From 1997-2002, he headed the piano area at Kent State University in Ohio, where he was also co-founder of the Kent Piano Seminar. He has also been on the piano faculties of Chapman University in Orange, California; California State University, Sacramento; Occidental College in Los Angeles; and the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. His students have been prizewinners in competitions throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Dr. Otten is in demand as a performer and clinician, giving recitals, master classes, and workshops throughout the U.S. He has performed at the national conventions of the Conductors’ Guild, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the World Piano Pedagogy Conference, and the American Liszt Society. Dr. Otten’s debut CD, Tristan und Isolde: Piano Transcriptions of Franz Liszt, has recently been released by MSR Classics to highly favorable reviews.