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 22, 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.