Dennis Alexander
Professor Alexander retired from his position at the University of Montana in May 1996 where he taught piano pedagogy for 24 years. Upon moving to California, he taught privately in addition to serving on the faculties of Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge. He currently lives in Albuquerque, NM where he maintains an active composing and touring schedule for Alfred Music Publishing.
Professor Alexander is a native Kansan, having graduated from the University of Kansas where he was a student of Richard Reber. In 1972, he was invited to join the faculty at the University of Montana and served as piano department chair in addition to his teaching duties in applied piano, class piano, and piano pedagogy. In 1987, he made his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall with violinist Walter Olivares and continues to be active as a soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. He has served as a collaborative artist for numerous internationally recognized soloists, instrumentalists, and chamber groups. A former president of the Montana State Music Teachers Association, he is a popular clinician at state and national music teachers conventions. In 2009, he was invited to MTNA to conduct the intermediate level master class at their national convention in Atlanta. In 2014, Professor Alexander was invited to judge a national piano competition in India called “MusiQuest” and has toured twice to the far East where he performed recitals and workshops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.
Over the years, numerous organizations and state associations have commissioned him to write compositions. His “Concertante in G Major” was commissioned by the Montana Music Teachers organization for the state convention, and his 2-piano work, “Fanfare Toccata Rondo” was commissioned by Goshen College. Many of his compositions are included in the National Federation of Music Study Clubs Festival required list and his music is being performed by students throughout the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe. One of Mr. Alexander’s most significant contributions to the repertoire is “24 Character Preludes” in all major and minor keys which includes a CD with Dennis Alexander as a soloist. He is also a co-author of an exciting and innovative piano method entitled “Alfred’s Premier Piano Course.” MTNA commissioned him to compose a chamber music work for piano, violin, and cello entitled “Dance Suite” and this work was premiered at the 2013 national conference in Anaheim, California. In the summer of 2015, he was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in recognition of his extraordinary service to the music teaching profession. Mr. Alexander’s personal website, www.DennisAlexander.com, has become a favorite with piano teachers and features recordings, videos, teaching tips, and much more!
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With over 400 publications and recordings, Dennis Alexander has earned an international reputation as one of the world's most prolific and popular composers of educational piano music for students of all ages. Learn about Dennis' first piano lesson, his inspiration for composing, how he motivates students, and more.
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There is something about Romantic style repertoire that sparks something in pianists. We’ve recently released a series of videos on the Nocturnes books featuring performances and practice tips from Dennis Alexander himself, and we’ve asked him to share a little more about his inspiration and processes for writing these beautiful books.
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