2024 IPPEC Examiner

Dr. Ilka Araújo

Texas Wesleyan University





A first-prize winner in several regional and national piano competitions in Brazil and in the U.S., Brazilian-American pianist and musicologist, Dr. Ilka 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 with a cognate in performance from the University of Florida. In June 2021, Dr. Araújo was appointed Chair of the Music Department at Texas Wesleyan University where holds a full Professor position. She is the head of the piano and music history divisions. She also serves as board director for the Fort Worth Music Teachers Association and was recently elected President-elect of TAMS (Texas Association of Schools of Music).

Ilka 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, and the Nineteenth-Century Studies Association. Dr. Araújo has adjudicated piano festivals and competitions in Brazil, Taiwan, and the United States. She is the recipient of the 2017 Texas Wesleyan Board of Trustees Teaching Award and the 2017 and the 2022 Steinway & Sons Top Teacher Award.

Dr. Araújo has been featured at several regional and national broadcast programs in Brazil such as Programa do Jô, Globo TV, Jangadeiro TV, Isto É Magazine, Siará Magazine, UFC-Ceará, and in the United States through WVCW-Virginia and Classical 89-Florida. Her biography is listed at Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who Among American Women, and Who’s Who Among Emerging Leaders. A devoted and successful pedagogue, Dr. Araújo believes that each student is unique and that their talents must be explored to the maximum of their capacity. Her piano students have received several prizes throughout the years in solo piano, concerto, and duo-piano competitions.