James Lyke

Bio

James Lyke served on the faculty of the University of Illinois from 1959 until 1993 as chairman of the Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy Division. He retired as Professor Emeritus from that position in 1993. During his years at the University of Illinois, Dr. Lyke expanded group piano offerings at beginning, intermediate and and advanced levels of instruction. In addition, he added a two semester course in jazz keyboard. In 1980 he inaugurated an MM program in Piano Pedagogy. In conjunction with this new degree program, he set up a Piano Laboratory Program for children and adults. This program enabled piano pedagogy majors to gain teaching experience. Dr. Lyke also supervised graduate teaching assistants in their work with teaching undergraduate piano classes as well as with the Piano Laboratory Program. During summer sessions, he headed Illinois Summer Youth Music Piano Camps and taught short courses and workshops for piano teachers.

In 1993, Dr. Lyke accepted a professorship at Georgia State University in Atlanta as coordinator of the piano pedagogy program. In addition to teaching applied students and group piano classes, he served as Director of Graduate Studies for the School of Music. During his tenure at GSU, he added courses in beginning piano for non music majors and a course in Advanced Keyboard Skills for piano majors. Dr. Lyke retired from Georgia State University in 1999 and moved to Manhattan where he continued to arrange and compose for various publishers for more than a dozen years. He now lives in Rhinebeck, NY.

AWARDS

The National Conference On Keyboard Pedagogy presented Dr. Lyke with a Lifetime Achievement Award in August 2009. In March 2003, the Music Teachers National Association honored Dr. Lyke with the Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award. In 2002, The University of Northern Colorado presented him with the Contribution to Music Award at its annual Honored Alumni Ceremony. MTNA appointed him as a Foundation Fellow in 2001. In 1990 he received the Excellence In Off Campus Teaching Award from the University of Illinois. In 1979, SUNY, College at Fredonia, honored him with an Outstanding Alumnus Award.

 GUEST PROFESSORSHIPS AND WORKSHOPS

Dr. Lyke served as a guest professor at the University of Michigan (1980-1981) and at the Adelaide College of Music in South Australia (1986-1987). He has given numerous workshops for state, regional and national organizations (MTNA and MENC). His international workshops have taken him to Austria (Salzburg, Bad Aussee), Switzerland (Lausanne), France (Grenoble), Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania), South Korea and Cyprus (Nicosia).

PERFORMANCES

Dr. Lyke has been active as a performer, especially in the collaborative sense. At the University of Illinois he often performed as a duet and two- piano partner with Tony Caramia. He also was a member of the American Music Trio championing the works of the great American songwriters (Gershwin, Kern, Berlin, Rodgers, Sondheim etc.). When he taught at Georgia State University, he formed a two-piano partnership with Geoffrey Haydon. They played concerts in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, Minnesota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, North Dakota, Colorado and Illinois.

PUBLICATIONS

Dr. Lyke has authored three texts for group instruction at the college level: Keyboard Musicianship,  Books One and Two, Keyboard Fundamentals, and Ensemble Music For Group Piano. He’s also has written a piano pedagogy text,Creative Piano Teaching. He has arranged several works for piano, four hands and two pianos. He also has composed pieces for young pianists. His publishers include Stipes Publishing Company, Alfred Publishing Company and Lee Roberts Publications. His articles have appeared in various piano magazines such as Clavier, Piano Quarterly and Keyboard Companion.