Professor Gary Amano, Director of Piano Studies at Utah State University, continues the tradition of outstanding piano performance and pedagogy begun by his mentor, Irving Wassermann. Professor Amano obtained Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School in New York. He founded the USU Youth Conservatory which has been recognized by NASM as a national model for youth programs. His students have won first place and/or grand prizes in numerous competitions, including the Kingsville International, the Stravinsky International, the MTNA Wurlitzer, Yamaha, and Baldwin National Competitions, the Young Keyboard Artists Association International (YKAA), the Kosciusko National Chopin Competition, the Junior Gina Bachauer, and the National Stillman-Kelly Competitions.