Dr. Robert Fred Kern (BS, MM (IWU ’67), MM D.A.) was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award at the biennial meeting of The National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP). The 2017 conference was held in Lombard, Illinois on July 24-29th, celebrating 35 years of excellence and innovation in music education at the keyboard alongside keyboard music educators, researchers, and industry leaders representing all fifty states and over a dozen other nations. The mission of NCKP is to enhance the quality of music-making throughout life and to educate teachers who are dedicated to nurturing lifelong involvement in music-making.

Dr. Kern resides in Dallas and is a native of Pittsfield, IL. He is Professor emeritus at the University of North Texas (Denton) where he was on the UNT keyboard and piano pedagogy faculty for 31 years. He also previously taught keyboard skills at Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) for 9 years.

Congratulations, Robert, on this award and all of your recent achievements!