Jeanne-Minette CilliersView profile
Assistant Professor
South African-born pianist Jeanne-Minette Cilliers serves as Assistant Professor of Vocal Coaching and Accompanying at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam. An acclaimed collaborative pianist hailed as "a pianistic poet," she performs at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and European theaters like Munich's Cuvilliés Theater and St. Petersburg's Yusupov Palace. Her educational background features piano performance degrees from the University of Michigan and Indiana University, complemented by an Artist Diploma in collaborative piano from the Manhattan School of Music. Professor Cilliers specializes in collaborative piano and vocal coaching with deep engagement in opera production and contemporary repertoire. She champions underrepresented female composers like Florence Price and Margaret Bonds through her Songs of Comfort YouTube series, while actively premiering new works including Chaya Czernowin's "Infinite Now" and Héctor Parra's operas. Her innovative approach extends to co-founding Kudu Productions for genre-bending multimedia projects. Prior to joining SUNY Potsdam, she led the Collaborative Piano program and served as Head of Music for the voice department at The Royal Conservatoire Antwerp, and held the position of Associate Head of Collaborative Pianists at the Manhattan School of Music. She maintains extensive opera credentials through music staff roles at Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Santa Fe Opera, LA Opera, and major European houses including Bayerische Staatsoper and Gran Teatre del Liceu. As an educator, she mentors students in vocal coaching and collaborative piano techniques, integrating her real-world experience from collaborations with conductors like Antonino Fogliani and directors including Peter Sellars. Her 2024 season features productions at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu and LA Opera, demonstrating ongoing professional vitality.
