Dr. Jisook Park has been hired to join the University of the Ozarks faculty as assistant professor of music – piano/staff collaborative pianist, beginning the 2024 Fall Semester.
Park most recently served as visiting assistant professor of piano and collaborative piano at Eastern New Mexico University, where she managed the piano program and accompanied students, guest artists, and faculty concerts.
Park holds a doctor of musical arts (DMA) degree in piano performance with a minor in opera coaching and accompanying from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She has master’s and bachelor’s degrees in piano performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
At ENMU, Park said she worked with students at various levels of musical ability, “from complete beginners to those who were passionate about pursuing a career in music and piano. Additionally, I collaborated with local high school music teachers to organize a piano day event, where I performed concerts and recruited students interested in learning the piano.”
Park has also worked as a full-time music teacher at a high school in Phoenix, and as a foreign lecturer at the UCSI University of Institute of Music in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition, she has served as a visiting music instructor and accompanist at Oklahoma Panhandle State University, a collaborative pianist at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and an artist pianist at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in New Orleans. She also taught piano and accompanied the school choir and musical productions at one of the most prestigious boarding schools in Switzerland, Leysin American School.
“Having such a diverse teaching experience all over the world during my early career has helped me to become a better educator,” she said. “I learned to collaborate with all sorts of staff members and students regardless of their racial or ethnic background, gender, age, language, religion, physical or mental limitations, or country of origin. As a Korean immigrant who has spent most of her adulthood in the U.S. while also teaching extensively in Europe and Asia, my multicultural background and teaching experiences have helped me become a better communicator, mentor, performer, and educator. Embracing diversity, I can relate to and interact with a broad spectrum of ethnic groups, utilizing various aspects of international cultures, along with my passion for music, to accomplish my mission as an educator.”
Topics: Faculty Spotlights, Music, Music Performance, Music Studies