Music Professor Inducted into Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame

Northwest Arkansas piano teacher Tomoko Kashiwagi has been inducted into the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame, a prestigious designation recognizing the work of North America's most committed and passionate piano educators. She was nominated for this honor by Steinway Gallery Northwest Arkansas, a Steinway & Sons authorized showroom featuring new, used and certified pre-owned Steinway and Steinway-designed Boston and Essex pianos and located at 4155 N. Steele Blvd., Suite 30, Fayetteville, AR 72703.

Kashiwagi, an internationally active pianist and educator, is known for her versatility across a diverse range of repertoire and for her dedication to collaborative performance. She is the inaugural recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from the University of Texas at Austin and also holds bachelor's and master's degrees, as well as the Performer Diploma in Piano Performance, from Indiana University.

Teaching and performing have long been central to Kashiwagi's career. She is passionate about helping students develop both musical artistry and confident self-expression through intentional, thoughtful practice. In her work with students, she emphasizes integrating musical understanding, healthy technique, problem solving, and expressive communication to create meaningful and personally resonant musical experiences.

Committed to lifelong learning, Kashiwagi continually seeks new ways to grow as a musician and educator. Her work spans local, national and international platforms. She has performed extensively throughout the United States and abroad, including Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Panama, Brazil and Canada. Her career includes appearances in notable venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; the Central Conservatory in Beijing; and the Guildhall School in London. She has been invited frequently as an official pianist for conferences, competitions and festivals, including the Menuhin International Violin Competition (2014) and the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference (2019).

Kashiwagi serves on the faculty of the U of A, where she is the Emily J. McAllister Endowed Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano and associate chair of the Department of Music. Dedicated to fostering musical excellence and community engagement, she received the Community Activator Grant from the Mid-America Arts Alliance in 2022. She is also the artistic director of the Ozark Music Initiative, a nonprofit organization creating year-round educational opportunities to empower young musicians and enrich the cultural life of Northwest Arkansas through world-class performances.