Crippled and bleeding just four years ago, the Cornell Piano Society (CPS) was on the brink of destruction before ceding presidential power to Marwan Sledge, a smooth virtuoso currently completing a Masters of Engineering here at good ol’ Cornell. Marwan managed to drag the club from the muck to its current deified state. Boasting over 200 members, CPS celebrates history’s greatest instrument through a teach-and-be-taught system. I sat down with Marwan and CPS’s Communications Director Catherine Yam ’14 to discuss the club’s resurrection.

The Sun: So do you have someone you tutor as well as someone who tutors you?

Catherine Yam: Exactly, yeah. We have members on all different levels of experience, so I can offer help and lessons to one set of people and then get instruction from music majors or minors. It’s really great to have that option, both for motivational purposes and to encourage anyone to join

Sun: You have undergrads, grad students…

C.Y.: We’re open to anyone who’s college age and older, so if you find our website and fill out the online forms, then you’re eligible to join. We’ve even gotten a fair amount of Cornell faculty, staff and members of the Ithaca community to come out. The only people we don’t serve are children.

Sun: Well, naturally. They’re terrible things, what with the sticky fingers and the embezzlement schemes. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t totally aware that CPS existed until recently, and I feel like a bit of an idiot for that after playing piano for 14 years. It sounds like the group has become a big success, however. How long have you been on Cornell’s campus?

Marwan Sledge: Nine years, I believe.

Sun: How’d you originally get involved, and how did you decide to become really absorbed and run for president?

M.S.: I was actually appointed president four years ago, because the club had sort of died. They came to me to revitalize the club … it’s been an interesting four years.

Sun: How did you go about doing that?

M.S.: Well, first things first, I make sure to never cancel events. When you schedule something, you have to make sure it goes forward. But I think the main thing that brought a lot of attention to our club is our lessons. We offer lessons for a very cheap price and anyone can take them, from beginners all the way up to virtuosos. The problem with the Music department is that they offer lessons, but not for beginners. They’re also a bit more stringent in their methods. Ours are a bit more laid back, more ready to fit into your schedule.

Sun: Are most of your members classically trained?

M.S.:  Actually, we get a pretty good mix. We have a lot of beginners right now who have never taken lessons before, but we try and teach all genres and account for all kinds of musical taste. Jazz, Improv, R&B, Rock — it’s all fair game.

Sun: So how do you navigate that tricky middle ground where you have to account for both experts and people who may just be musically inclined?

M.S.: That’s the reason why we have so many different types of events, big recitals for those who like to perform and more intimate settings for those still getting their bearings.

Sun: Catherine mentioned it’s a bit like a matchmaking process. How do you go about pairing people up?

M.S.: We have specially hired people who know our secret formula.

Sun: That sounds like witchcraft, Marwan. And I hate witchcraft.

C.Y.: It’s actually just an application on our website. You fill out a form and you basically select your level, put down what pieces you can play so they can see what level of proficiency you’re on and then decide who you’re fit to teach and who’s fit to teach you. So it really works out, because there’s always going to be someone above and below you.

Sun: Catherine, you mentioned that you’re thinking pre-law, and Marwan, you’re…

M.S.: An engineer. We get a lot of engineers, actually.

Sun: So how do you use music to inform these decidedly non-musical majors? Does it act as a de-stressor, or are there parallels there that may not be immediately apparent?

M.S.: We have a fair amount of people who take the music minor. It’s fairly simple and straightforward, thankfully, so that’s one thing. Obviously it’s a great way to lose stress, between our social events and the act of playing itself.

C.Y.: I’ve found that music can help you tremendously academically. Not just now, but in high school and even before I’ve always thought that it helped me with math, what with all the internal rhythm and counting involved. There’s also the performative aspect of playing. As a lawyer, I’ll need to get up and speak in front of people, and piano definitely helps you learn how to present yourself and perform confidently.

Sun: And it’s great that you’ve been able to create and find this collaborative community where you can practice all these things free of expectation. You two are coming from very different perspectives here — Marwan as a Masters student and Catherine as a freshman. What have you seen from Cornell’s administrative support of clubs like yours, from sets of seasoned and fresh eyes, respectively?

M.S.: When I first took over the club — well, when it died, we had a very poor reputation within the music department; it was a very strained and difficult process even to book the rooms we needed. But I’d like to think that’s changed significantly in recent years, especially with the consistency we’ve exhibited as I’ve stayed in control. The department’s more open to what we do as a club now that they’ve realized that there are kids all over campus that are interested in music, so it helps get their educational ideals out into different corners of Cornell.

Sun: So while you were dragging CPS out of the muck, what sort of tactics did you use to ensure there wouldn’t be any regression?

M.S.: Well, we changed our advisor from someone inside the department to someone outside — Graeme Bailey — everyone knows Graeme Bailey, and he’s a very good diplomat to the music department. And as I said, there’s that consistency. I have a very particular way of leading the club, emphasizing integrity and high standards, making sure every officer is well-qualified and run it basically like a non-profit. So that serious approach helps add to the prestige of the club, makes people take you seriously.

C.Y.: We’ve definitely expanded our scope in a lot of different ways. I’ve always viewed it as a student, and bringing in people from a lot of different backgrounds has helped us realize each others strengths and create a really collaborative effort. The more people come into your club — power in numbers, you know?

Sun: Any events coming down the pipe?

M.S.: This Saturday we’re having our Video Game Night at the Appel Fireside Lounge at 5. We basically just set up some big TVs, get Rock Band and Super Smash going and hang out.

C.Y.: And one of our more formal events is coming up on April 2nd at the Johnson Museum, our Spring Concert. Any member is invited to play, but we make sure to have a few of our advanced pianists get up there.

M.S.: We actually move a piano into the gallery. It’s a very cool experience.

Sun:  Groovy. Anything else to add?

M.S.: It’s tough, you know, there are so many different sides to CPS … I guess there’s the whole business aspect of the club that most people don’t realize. Because we’re growing so exponentially, we have to borrow ideas from business and economic fields. That’s actually one of the academic parts of the process, because it’s a learning process for the officers that serve.

Sun: Well, I’m just hella proud of you. Thanks for coming by.