Pianist Baruch Meir is a professor of piano at Arizona State University. He maintains a busy teaching schedule in addition to his international concert career. Baruch recently toured Korea's most prestigious music schools and universities as well as the Music Academy in Vienna (Austria), the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem (Israel) and various conservatories and universities in the U.S. Baruch’s distinctions include the American-Israel Cultural Foundation Awards, the British Council fellowship, and many additional awards in piano competitions worldwide.Baruch shares details about growing up in Israel and how he began playing the piano. We chat about his love of teaching and how he uses relaxation with the piano. Baruch discusses the nuances of competitions, including what led him to start his own competition in 2006. We chat about new music, memorization versus reading music, and Baruch’s upcoming artistic plans.