WKU community mourning loss of long-time music professor, famed pianist

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Western Kentucky University community is mourning the loss of a long-time piano professor.

Sylvia Kersenbaum, who served as a piano professor at the university since 1976, passed away on Monday, March 23, according to a university spokesperson. She was 84.

Kersenbaum was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She held degrees in performance, pedagogy, and composition from the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires and Artists Diplomas from both the Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Academia Chigiana, Siena.

Kersenbaum appeared in recitals and as a soloist with orchestras throughout the world, including London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Munchen Philharmoniker, Bayerische Staatskapelle, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the San Fransisco Symphony, and the Louisville Orchestra.

Kersenbaum became a piano professor at WKU in 1976.

She was awarded Honorary Membership of the American Beethoven Society and the WKU Faculty Award for Research and Creativity in 1990.

Following her retirement, Kersenbaum was awarded the title of Professor Emerita.

Delta Omicron established the Sylvia Kersenbaum Music Scholarship Fund in 2002 and has helped WKU music students pursue academic and musical goals.

Sylvia Kersenbaum was a remarkable artist, teacher, and colleague whose impact on our department and generations of students is immeasurable. She was a world-class pianist with an international performing career, yet she brought a personal and encouraging approach to her teaching and mentorship. Twice she performed the complete 32 Beethoven Piano Sonata cycle to critical acclaim- an accomplishment like climbing Mt. Everest in the musical world. Sylvia loved opera and vocal music and regularly attend the Metropolitan Opera performances live-streamed at a movie theater in town. Beyond her musical life, Sylvia had a deep appreciation for nature and animals and chose to remain in Bowling Green because of the peace and beauty she found here. She received the SKYPAC Lifetime Achievement in the Arts & Humanities Award to recognize what she gave back to Bowling Green. Her legacy lives on in the music department through a scholarship established in her name and through her induction in the WKU Department of Music Wall of Fame. She will be deeply missed, and we are grateful for the tremendous legacy she leaves behind.
– Zachary Lopes, Chair of WKU Music Department

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I had the honor and privilege to call Sylvia my colleague and occupy the studio next door for over fifteen years. Her public performances and recordings were bold and unapologetic, impressive and inspirational, and exhibited a command of some of the most daunting works in the piano literature. But my favorite moments and memories with Sylvia occurred during the countless quiet conversations that occurred in my office, where she shared her knowledge, humor and profound insights about music and life. I will always remember Sylvia as a wonderful human; honest, passionate, sensitive and endearing. No one will be able to fill her unique space in this world – she will be missed.
– Dr. Donald Speer, WKU Piano faculty member