ASTORIA, New York (NEWS RELEASE FROM STEINWAY & SONS) – Local piano teacher Dr. John Singleton Hollins has been inducted into the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame, a prestigious designation recognizing the work of North America’s most committed and passionate piano educators. He was nominated for this honor by Steinway Hall Dallas, a Steinway & Sons authorized showroom featuring new, used, and certified pre-owned Steinway and Steinway-designed Boston and Essex pianos and located at 5301 Central Expressway, Dallas, TX.
Hollins, a native of South Carolina, has appeared on national and international stages as a conductor, pianist, organist, composer, clinician, and baritone. He currently serves as Associate Director of Choral Studies at Texas Tech University, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting, directs studies in choral literature, hymnology, and liturgy, and maintains a studio of applied organists. His extensive performance career has taken him throughout Germany, including Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig, as well as to Prague, South Africa, and Italy. He has conducted the West Texas Symphony Orchestra, appearing with Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, and has served as guest conductor of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra.
From 2002 to 2020, Hollins was Artistic Director of The Lubbock Chorale, leading the organization in performances at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall, international tours, and collaborations with leading cultural institutions across the South Plains. He has also conducted and coached numerous productions with the Texas Tech Opera and Music Theatre programs and served for fifteen seasons with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, where he led both main-stage and young artist productions.
Hollins’s international teaching includes residencies in the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Africa, and faculty appointments with Music in the Marché in Italy. His research explores the intersection of conducting and vocal pedagogy, sacred choral literature, and music education outreach.
An active church musician for four decades, Hollins has served as Minister of Music and Organist at St. Paul’s-on-the-Plains Episcopal Church in Lubbock since 2006. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting, Piano Performance, and Musicology, and the Master of Church Music in Organ and Piano from Southern Seminary, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Piano Pedagogy from the University of South Carolina.
This fall, 66 teachers from the United States and Canada were inducted into the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame with special events hosted at the historic Steinway factory in New York City. Teachers were selected for this award for their outstanding instruction and leadership in acoustic piano education and their commitment to teaching in their community for over a decade. Each teacher inducted into the Hall of Fame is part of the Steinway Teacher & Educational Partner Program (STEP) and was nominated by a Steinway & Sons showroom in the teacher’s home region. The teachers’ names are now displayed on a commemorative display wall inside the iconic factory.
“Music education has been a cornerstone of our historic company since the late 1800s, and today is no different,” said Gavin English, President of Steinway & Sons Americas. “We are very proud to work with the talented music educators inducted this fall into the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame. These teachers foster passion, creativity, and discipline in the next generation of piano artists. Their work deserves the highest praise.”
The Steinway Teacher & Educational Partner Program (STEP) is designed for piano instructors and affiliated studio partners to enhance their relationship with Steinway & Sons and to further support their piano instruction. By becoming a Steinway Teacher & Educational Partner, teachers receive several benefits and unique opportunities including access to workshops, concerts, masterclasses, and various special events as well as the opportunity for the prestigious designation of being inducted into the Steinway & Sons Music Teacher Hall of Fame.
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