2016 IPPEC Examiner
Dr.
Ilka Araújo
Texas Wesleyan University
¡@
Brazilian/American pianist and musicologist Ilka Vasconcelos Araújo holds a B.M.
in piano performance from State University of Ceará in Brazil, a M.M. in piano
performance and pedagogy, and a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of
Florida.
A first prize winner in several regional and national piano competitions in
Brazil, Dr. Araújo has performed and taught master classes in Brazil, the Czech
Republic, France, Germany, and the United States. She has presented lectures
and lecture-recitals for organizations such as the College Music Society, the
International Hawaii Conference in Arts and Humanities, the American
Musicological Society, the Nineteenth-Century Studies Association, and the
Musicology Lecture Series.
She has been awarded the Texas Wesleyan University Faculty Scholar Recognition
twice. Her research work focuses on lesser known composers, especially those of
Brazilian origin and their use of twentieth-century compositional techniques.
Her most recent contribution was an entry on living Brazilian composer Marlos
Nobre for the 2015 Rutledge Encyclopedia of Modernism.
Dr.
Araújo has been featured at several regional and national broadcast programs
such as Programa do Jô, Globo TV, Jangadeiro TV, Isto É Magazine, Siará
Magazine, UFC-Ceará, WVCW-Virginia, and Classical 89-Florida. A devoted and
successful piano pedagogue, Dr.
Araújo believes that each student is unique and that their talents must be
explored by giving them opportunities to perform and present in several venues
and occasions. Her
piano students have received several prizes throughout the years in solo piano,
concerto, and duo-piano competitions.
Besides holding a faculty position at Texas Wesleyan University, Dr. Araújo also
works as president and piano ensemble director for the Fort Worth Music Teachers
Association. She currently lives in Fort Worth with her husband and three
children.