Performances + Events
The New England Conservatory community mourns the loss of Jean Stackhouse, who died on February 1 at age 89. Stackhouse taught piano pedagogy at NEC and served as chair of the Piano Department at NEC’s Preparatory School and, later, as NEC Prep’s director of education. While at NEC Prep, whose faculty she joined in 1961, Stackhouse established a piano performance seminar series. She joined the College’s faculty in 1977, where she remained until 1993, when her husband, the late Max Stackhouse, was appointed to the faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Pianist Wha Kyung Byun ’74 MM, who joined the NEC Prep faculty in 1979 and the College faculty in 1985, said the piano seminar Stackhouse established at the Prep encouraged curiosity among students and exploration beyond the piano.
“She herself was very curious,” Byun said, remembering that Stackhouse insisted that, as faculty, “we are responsible for these young souls” and “we are doing something beautiful.”
“(Stackhouse) was the consummate artist-teacher, setting the example of how to navigate life and teaching with the utmost professionalism, integrity, and concern for all,” Marilyn Roth ’85 MM, former chair of NEC Prep’s Piano Department, said. “Our institution quietly and strongly reflects Jean’s influence during her many years as teacher and administrator.”
In 2005, the NEC Preparatory School Faculty Council established the Jean Stackhouse Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is presented annually to a member of the NEC Prep faculty and acknowledges the central role all faculty play in the School’s life and mission.
