Senior Lecturer

Email: mary.lennon@TUDublin.ie

Tel: 01-2202058

Dr Mary Lennon

PhD  MEd  BMus  DipMus  FTCL  FLCM  LRAM  LRSM  LGSM

Senior Lecturer

Dublin-born Mary Lennon studied piano with Frank Heneghan at the College of Music, Dublin and with Christopher Elton in London, and participated in many masterclasses with teachers such as Béla Siki, John Ogden, Jacques Rouvier, Ruth Laredo, Frantisek Rauch and Ivan Klansky.  A graduate of University College Dublin (BMus), Trinity College Dublin (MEd) and the University of London (PhD), Mary has wide performance experience as soloist and accompanist, has recorded for the national broadcasting station RTÉ, and was a major prizewinner at leading music festivals and competitions in Ireland and the U.K.

Mary’s career has had a particular focus on piano teaching and music education, and she is a long-standing member of the Keyboard Faculty at the Conservatoire where she also lectures in Music Education and is involved in postgraduate research supervision. A former Head of Keyboard Studies at the Conservatoire, Mary has enjoyed teaching a wide range of students, some of whom have gone on to pursue successful careers in music and many of whom have been prizewinners in national competitions. Mary is an experienced adjudicator and was a member of the international jury for the 2018 Dublin International Piano Competition.  She regularly gives workshops and masterclasses and acts as external examiner for music institutions in Ireland and abroad.  She is a founder member and former Chairperson of EPTA Ireland (European Piano Teachers’ Association) and has played an active role in the association both nationally and internationally.   

Mary also lectures in Music Education in the Academic Studies Department, teaching on the BMus and MMus programmes, and is active as a PhD research supervisor.  Her own PhD was on the topic of Piano Teacher Thinking: A Qualitative Approach to the Study of Piano Teaching, and her research interests include piano pedagogy, instrumental teacher education and practice-based research.  She has lectured and published on these subjects and regularly presents papers at national and international conferences including ISME, RIME, EPTA, NASM, SEMPRE, SMEI, SMI.   She has also contributed to the Encyclopedia of Music in Ireland and is an experienced peer reviewer.  Mary has been involved in European higher music education research projects and was a member of the AEC (European Association of Conservatoires) Erasmus-funded Polifonia Working Groups on Instrumental/Vocal Teacher Education (2007-2010) and Assessment and Standards (2012-2015).  She was a member of the Scientific Committee for ISME 2020 and a founder member of the ISME (International Society for Music Education) Forum for Instrumental and Vocal Teaching.  She is currently a member of the peer reviewer panel for MusiQuE, the European accreditation and external evaluation body for higher music education institutions.

Memberships include EPTA Ireland, SMEI, SMI and Feis Ceoil