Faculty & Staff

B.M., University of Michigan; M.M. San Francisco Conservatory of Music; D.M.A, Eastman School of Music

Dr. Elizabeth Crecca is Assistant Professor of Music at Truman State University, where she teaches applied piano, as well as theory and other academic courses. She has appeared as recitalist and masterclass clinician at universities across the country including the Eastman School of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, University of Oklahoma, Fresno State, Utah State, and Hillsdale College. She was the 2024 Guest Artist at the University of Missouri—St. Louis Keyboard Camp and has performed as soloist and collaborator at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival, Chautauqua Piano Program, Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival, and American Bach Soloists Academy. She has won top prizes in competitions including Chautauqua and the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Young Artist Division. Her repertoire ranges from premieres of new works to Baroque and Classical works on period instruments, and she has been praised for her “distinctive voice” at the piano (The Chautauquan Daily).

Dr. Crecca’s research explores the connections among analysis, history, and performance, focusing largely on performance practice and its practical applications. She has been invited to perform and present at the MTNA National Conference, Bilkent University Piano Festival, and World Piano Teachers Association World Piano Conference. Her lecture recital, “Performance Practice in the Piano Music of Béla Bartók: Exploring Compositional Source Material and Historical Recordings,” was nominated for Eastman’s Lecture Recital Prize.

Prior to joining the faculty at Truman, Dr. Crecca taught at Bucknell University, Bradley University, and the Eastman School of Music/University of Rochester. At Eastman she launched a masterclass series and was nominated for the Teaching Assistant Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Her piano students have performed and won top prizes in the University of Rochester Concerto Competition, Bradley University Concerto and Aria Competition, UR Performing Arts Conference, and several masterclass series. They have soloed with the UR Chamber Orchestra and Bradley Symphonic Winds.

Dr. Crecca holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, a Master of Music in Piano Performance with a Baroque Emphasis from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Music Theory from the University of Michigan. She studied piano with Natalya Antonova, Yoshikazu Nagai, and Logan Skelton, as well as harpsichord and fortepiano with Corey Jamason and Lisa Crawford.

Student testimonials

“Dr. Crecca not only elevated my pianistic technique to be more skilled and natural, but she also improved the way I practice, my approach for learning new pieces, my time-management skills, and my emotional attachment to music. She truly cares about her students, both as pianists and people.”

“Dr. Crecca encourages me to constantly improve, is always constructive and detailed with her notes on my performance, and goes the extra mile to help me discover the interpretation of a piece that resonates the most with me.”