Earlier this month, Steinway & Sons named Dr. Michael Boyd, professor of music in the College of Arts and Letters, to its Music Teacher Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Queens, New York. The prestigious honor is presented every two years to talented music educators from the U.S. and Canada “who foster passion, creativity and discipline in the next generation of piano artists.”
This honor arrives on the heels of the UToledo Department of Music attaining the coveted recognition of becoming an All-Steinway School – a prestigious achievement for the University of Toledo that Boyd has guided for the past 20 years. The result of that designation was a celebratory concert at Steinway Hall in New York last spring that featured Boyd, current UToledo piano students, and alumni.
Steinway & Sons named Dr. Michael Boyd, professor of music in the College of Arts and Letters, to its Music Teacher Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Queens, New York.
“Performing with my students last spring at Steinway Hall in New York to celebrate the Music Department becoming an all Steinway School was a pinnacle in my career of teaching at the University. This honor is the icing on the cake,” said Boyd, who is a Steinway Artist as well, an award presented to professional pianists worldwide who perform only on Steinway pianos.
“To see my name on the Teacher Hall of Fame Wall at Steinway along with the names of renowned teachers from all over the country (including my own teacher) was a humbling yet proud moment. I am grateful for the support of the University and most of all, my students past and present. They are the best.”
“Dr. Boyd has promoted and fostered the highest level of musicianship among his students and within our department over the past 35-plus years,” said Dr. Jason Stumbo, chair of the UToledo Department of Music. “His musical talents, the positive relationships he has established in our community and his dedication to the success of our students has elevated our program in so many ways. His induction into the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame is an incredible honor that is well-deserved.”
Boyd is active as a soloist, collaborative artist, lecturer, teacher and adjudicator. After graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts under the tutelage of Bela Nagy, he continued at the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts Winter Program in Canada as an invited student/performer. His studies culminated in both master’s and doctoral degrees as well as a Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. While at Eastman, he won first prize as pianist in the Kneisel Lieder Competition and played a radio broadcast recital from Carnegie Hall with Naumburg prize-winning violinist Ian Swensen.
Boyd has been a professor of piano at The University of Toledo for 36 years. Prior to that, he was also a visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music.
