BIOGRAPHY - sallie pollack
Oklahoma-based pianist, Sallie Pollack, is Professor of Collaborative Piano at the University of Central Oklahoma where she also serves as the UCO Piano Division Head and coordinator of the Collaborative Piano Program. A versatile and engaging performer, she has performed as soloist and collaborator both nationally and internationally. "Dazzling… truly natural... her sensitivity elevated the performance, beautifully complementing the artistic decisions of the ensemble" (The Oklahoman, 2017), aptly describes her approach to music-making and collaboration.
Dr. Pollack has performed in diverse venues, including Carnegie Hall, Bass Performance Hall, Meyerson Symphony Center, Jacoby Symphony Hall, Krannert Center, OKC Civic Center and The Redlands Bowl. She has collaborated with notable ensembles, such as the Texas Boys Choir, Nextet Ensemble, Talea Ensemble, ClaviVoce, Post-Oak Trio, Lupine Trio and Trio OTIS. She has coached for the Mons Conservatory Opera Theatre, Bavarian Theatre-Hof, University of Nevada Opera Theatre, Illinois Opera Theatre, TCU Opera Theatre, and the UCO Opera Theatre and has been pianist for the UCO Ballet, National Flute Association, Oklahoma Music Teachers Association, American Choral Directors Association, NATS, MET National Council Region Auditions, BrightMusic Chamber Ensemble, NEON New Music Festival, Suzuki WOW Institute, OU Clarinet Symposium, and ClarinetFest. She has presented for the Norman Music Teachers Association, Central Oklahoma Music Teachers Association, MacDowell Club of Allied Arts, American Guild of Organists, UNT CollabFest and the College Music Society regional and national conventions.
Sallie Pollack is equally dedicated to teaching and has received UCO’s prestigious Vanderford Initiative Award which honors excellence in transformative learning. She has written curriculum and spearheaded the Undergraduate Collaborative Piano Minor and Graduate Collaborative Piano degrees at UCO where her students collaborate in ballet studios, choral ensembles, large ensembles, historical music groups, chamber ensembles, vocal and instrumental partnerships, and music theatre and operatic productions.
She has performed with renowned artists such as Phil Smith, Adam Unsworth, Renee Siebert, Charles Castleman, Alexa Still, Lucy Shelton, Richard Nunemaker, Jonathon Holden, Tom Shelton, Paul Salumonovich, Lynn Gackle, Andrew Schulman, Eric Nelson and Amy Porter to name a few. She has recently been a featured artist on 88.7 KUCO’s award winning Performance Oklahoma and can be heard on the recordings: American Byways: The Music of Michael Daugherty with the UCO Wind Symphony, Winds and Voices: Living Artists Recordings Vol. 1, ClaviVoce’s The Gift of Love, What Cheer, and Live!. She has collaborated on two recordings soon to be released of 21st Century Chamber Operas and commissioned works for the LUPINE and OTIS Trios.
Along with her UCO duties, she is also currently the staff pianist for Westminster Presbyterian Church, Oklahoma City, and is on the faculty at the Norman School for Strings, the North Carolina Summer Institute for Choral Arts, and BLOYS Camp meeting. She is currently serving as board member for the Oklahoma Music Teachers Association. Dr. Pollack has previously been staff collaborative pianist for Texas Tech University, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Texas Christian University, Ft. Worth Ballet, and the Las Vegas Chamber Music Festival.
Dr. Pollack holds degrees from TCU (BM and Artist Diploma), University of Illinois (MM), Manhattan School of Music (DMA), and the Royal Conservatoire of Belgium (Premier Prix), the latter as a 1996 Fulbright Scholar. She has studied with Pamela Mia Paul, José Feghali, Eric Dalheim, Dalia Ouziel, and John Forconi. Sallie resides in Edmond with her husband, rock historian, Dr. Peter Pollack, three children, Max, Laura, Zachary and malti-poos, Elwood and Nugget.