Music professor Paul Whitley
It does not take much guessing to figure out Northwestern’s new piano professor’s number-one hobby. While on campus, Prof. Paul Whitley can almost always be found sitting at the bench of his baby grand.
Whitley is the temporary replacement for Dr. Juyeon Kang who is presently studying piano on sabbatical in Europe. Born in the small town of Sparrow Bush, New York, Whitely received his bachelor’s degree at Wheaton College in Illinois. He later went on to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he earned his master’s degree. Currently he is working on his doctorate at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
When asked to identify his favorite piano piece, Whitley found it to be impossible. “There are so many and it changes all the time. My favorite is whatever I’m working on,” Whitley said.
As of Monday, this was La Valse by Ravel, which he claimed is an even greater challenge than many of the more commonly known masterpieces. However, Whitley admitted that the difficulty of any particular piece is more determined by each individual’s musical strengths and weaknesses than by the actual notes on the staff.
When he is not playing piano, Whitley enjoys reading classical literature.
According to Whitley, his decision to become a piano professor was a considerably easy one. He takes full advantage of the time this profession allows for him to pursue his own musical endeavors between student lessons.
Aside from the personal benefits, Whitley explained his career choice as “simply what [music majors] do.” He never seriously questioned this path, knowing that teaching would give him the opportunity to put his expertise to work refining students who share his passion. “It’s how I pass on the love of music,” Whitley said.
