NVMTA Lecture Series

NVMTA presents….

Masterclass with Nancy O’ Neill Breth

” Contemporary Music”

              Program

Nancy O’Neill Breth teaches piano and chamber music to students of all ages in
the Washington DC metro area. For a window into her approach, visit Effective
Practicing, short YouTube demonstrations of ‘best-practice’ practice tips.
Nancy owes her life in music to the priceless gift of studies under giants such as
Margaret Saunders Ott, Bela Nagy, Gyorgy Sebok and Rudolf Kolisch. Her experience in
Indiana University’s famed Sebok/Gingold/Starker chamber music class transformed her
from an aspiring piano soloist into a lifelong chamber musician.
While living in Mexico City, New York City and Washington, DC, Nancy was founder and
pianist of chamber ensembles that performed to critical acclaim. The Mexico City News
wrote that her Camerata de Mexico “offers the best chamber music in Mexico.” The
Washington Post praised her “superb musicianship” and called her Music Connection
concert series “brilliant” and “imaginative.”
Over time, teaching evolved from a side interest to the center of Nancy’s professional
life. Breth students excel in local, regional and national piano and chamber music
competitions. Several have appeared on National Public Radio’s “From the Top”; and
four teams from the Breth Studio have won MTNA’s national duet competition.
Although Nancy’s academic degrees were in piano performance, she earned her
pedagogy “degree” from stellar teachers in her own community. Now, she interacts with
young teachers both formally, as an adjudicator and lecturer, and informally in various
ways such as her monthly online sessions, Talk About Teaching.
Nancy taught piano, chamber music and pedagogy at Washington DC’s Levine School
of Music for many years. While she was chair of Levine’s Chamber Music Department,
the number of adults and children studying chamber music at the school grew from
around 40 to almost 400.
Nancy first presented for MTNA at its Seattle conference 25 years ago. She’s been
invited back a number of times, most recently in 2024 as curator of the entire Artistry
Track of Pedagogy Saturday.
Nancy’s latest project for teachers and students is her Modern Piano Music List, a
clickable list of performances and sources of 20 th and 21 st century piano repertoire.
Breth publications include Practicing the Piano; The Piano Student's Guide to Effective
Practicing; and Parent’s Guide to Effective Practicing, plus a set of piano trios for
beginners, Six Songs from John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera. All are published by Hal
Leonard Corp. She has written for Clavier, American Music Teacher and Clavier
Explorer.