SSO, UMass colleagues mourn passing of pianist Nadine Shank

Sitting toward the back of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra stage, her lean frame mostly obscured by the grand piano she leaned into and played with formidable energy and enthusiasm, SSO Principal Pianist Nadine Shank shone the bright light of her consummate artistry and expertise on every musical endeavor she undertook.

That light was extinguished on Oct. 8, when Shank, 65, died in Amherst from sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, diagnosed in May of this year. Memories shared and treasured by her musical colleagues illuminate a vast legacy of influence and appreciation that stretches around the globe.

Mark Gionfriddo, Instructor of Music at Mount Holyoke College, and Coordinator of Piano Instruction there, studied with Shank in the late 1980s as a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she taught for 40 years.

“She was revered by all of us piano students,” Gionfriddo recalled. “She was so kind and gracious – always willing to offer help. She was my favorite UMass professor. Her technique was brilliant, and yet she was always so humble about herself. If you wanted to excel playing chamber music repertoire, she was the person to seek out. I modeled my studio teaching philosophy after hers, and I’m sure my fellow students did the same.”

Although she had and displayed the “chops” of a solo artist, Shank was best known as a collaborative pianist. She studied with one of the finest such artists, the great Menachem Pressler, at Indiana University’s School of Music. She also won IU’s Concerto Competition in 1979 and performed Mozart’s Concerto in B-flat, K. 595 with the IU Orchestra. In 1989 she developed the Masters in Collaborative Piano degree at UMass, a program that continues to place its graduates (Gionfriddo was among the first of these) throughout the world.

At home in every genre of music, a brilliant sight-reader, and a technical giant, Shank recorded hours of music with numerous colleagues, from repertoire classics to music whose ink was barely dry on the page.

As the daughter of a saxophonist, Shank was particularly drawn to music composed for that instrument, and it was said that she had more of the saxophone literature under her fingers than any pianist in the world. Her mother was a singer, and Shank excelled in that area as well, teaching French art song and German Lieder to UMass students from the beginning of her career at the University.

She recorded extensively with saxophonist Lynn Klock, who recently retired from UMass.

“Nadine was a great gift to me personally and to my saxophone class at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, not to mention the hundreds of musicians she worked with in the Pioneer Valley and throughout the country,” Klock said. “Her generosity to play with musicians of all levels was unmatched. She will be sorely missed.”

As Klock noted, Shank accompanied the lion’s share of his saxophone students. One such student is David Pope, since 2000 a Professor of Saxophone at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Three years ago, Pope wrote a letter to Shank – in elegant calligraphy – in appreciation of her musical support and friendship during and since his college years at UMass.

“Nadine, thank you for being such an inspiring teacher, artist, and human,” Pope wrote. “The impact that you have had on those of us that have been lucky enough to be in your circle is beyond measure. Although circumstances change as we evolve and grow, you are a constant source of faith in our profession, and in humanity.

Pope recently learned that Shank had framed that letter and hung it on the wall of her studio.

“Almost everyone I know has a little story of some secret kindness that Nadine did for them,” Pope said. “Whether it was extra tutoring, providing emotional support, or even making sure someone had food. I don’t think anyone will ever know the full story of Nadine’s kindness.”

“I last heard her (play) in Orlando in 2019 at George Weremchuk’s UCF SaxFest. She accompanied my current DMA student, who was also a UMass graduate, and then of course played with Lynn Klock. So the last time I heard her play, it was with both my student AND my mentor. What a gift!”

Pope added, “Is there someone in your life that you should thank? Thank them right now.”

Estela Olevsky, Professor Emerita of Piano at UMass, also remembered her colleague with the utmost esteem and fondness.

“Nadine’s legacy to the Music Department can hardly be expressed in a few words,” Olevsky said. “Her pianistic excellence, her remarkable dexterity and phenomenal ability to learn huge, difficult pieces of music had established her as an outstanding instrumental and vocal partner. This particular talent was equaled by her total dedication to her piano students at UMass. As a colleague in the Piano Department I could not have wished for a better one.”

Once the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, UMass plans a public celebration of her life with both musical and spoken tributes.

Shank served the Springfield Symphony Orchestra as its Principal Pianist from 1984 to the present. Maestro Kevin Rhodes recalled the first concert in which he and Shank worked together — his first as Music Director.

“We played (Ravel’s) Daphnis et Chloe in complete form,” Rhodes said. “I noted that on her music stand at the celeste, she had a full score to work (from), and in a break when we introduced ourselves to each other, I remarked on how much I was impressed by the preparation that demonstrated. From the podium I only knew that she was completely perfect. She said something like, ‘Oh, yes, I really want to know everything that is going on in order to play my part correctly.’ For nearly 19 years, this pattern was played out in every single concert she played.”

“Such an exemplary artist and colleague who valued excellence above all else and would not accept anything less than perfection in herself, will remain an inspiration to us all,” Rhodes added.

Thousands of memories made by Shank’s piano mastery linger green in the memory – among them her effortless accounts of knuckle-busting orchestral reductions from saxophone concertos on the stage at Umass’s Recital Halls, and perhaps most poignant, her rendition of As Time Goes By at the SSO’s most recent Movie Night.

Rhodes said of Shank’s absence, “…the world is far less bright.”

Nadine Shank teaches students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. (UMass photo)

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.