Distinguished Professor, Elyse Mach, coordinates the piano and piano pedagogy programs. She is the author of nine books on piano and pianists, among them: Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves (Dover, New York and Robson, London), which has also been translated to Japanese and Korean. Her book, Contemporary Class Piano (Oxford University Press, New York) is one of the leading class piano books in the country. Dr. Mach’s latest text, Learning Piano: Piece by Piece, is also published by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Mach has been a contributing music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. In addition, she has conducted interviews with many of the renowned classical and jazz virtuosos. These interviews have been published in magazines and scholarly journals worldwide. She regularly writes feature articles for Clavier Magazine, where she serves as Consulting Editor. She also serves on the Board of Directors of The American Liszt Society.

Throughout her career, Professor Mach has given guest lectures at prestigious universities and conservatories including St. Catherine’s College of Oxford University; Yale University; Northwestern University; The Juilliard School of Music; Peabody Conservatory; the Kongju Arts Communication College in Gongju, South Korea; and most recently at the Amalfi Music Festival in Vietri, Italy.

As a performer, Elyse Mach has concertized throughout Europe and the United States, appearing as piano soloist with such orchestras as the NBC Symphony and the Netherlandische Philharmonic Broadcasting Orchestra.

As the first recipient of the Board of Governors Universities - Distinguished Professor Award, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Illinois have honored Dr. Mach with a proclamation.

Professor Mach is the 2010 recipient of the Silver Medal presented by The American Liszt Society--the highest honor the society bestows. She is also the 2010 recipient of the Bernard J. Brommel Distinguished Research Professor Award at Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago.