Martha Hilley joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin School of Music in 1982 as Coordinator of Group Piano and Pedagogy. Throughout her career, she has been active in piano pedagogy, teaching on the national, state, and local levels, as well as internationally in Italy, Belgium, Australia, Norway, Austria, and Taiwan. Hilley has been the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in undergraduate teaching throughout her career, including the Texas Excellence Teaching Award, 1983; a Dad's Association Centennial Fellowship, 1988; and the Texas Music Teachers Association's Outstanding Collegiate Teacher,1997. In 1992, Hilley received the prestigious Orpheus Award presented by… Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in recognition of her contributions to the field of music. She was the first College of Fine Arts faculty member to be awarded the William Blunk Endowed Professorship (1998). In 2002, Professor Hilley was named as the first MTNA Foundation Fellow for the state of Texas. Ms. Hilley was inducted into the University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers in the fall of 2005. Professor Hilley was honored with the Music Teachers National Association Distinguished Service Award at the 2008 MTNA National Conference in Denver, CO. This award recognizes an MTNA leader who has provided significant and lasting volunteer service to the association. Hilley is coauthor of two college piano texts: PIANO FOR THE DEVELOPING MUSICIAN and PIANO FOR PLEASURE, the first texts to embrace digital sequencer technology through disks and the first to provide Web-based computer tutorials.
Lynn Olson was an award-winning composer of piano music for adult beginners.