My teaching philosophy emphasizes the individuality of each student. Piano learning should be a rewarding, fun, interesting, fulfilling, and exciting process. I am an enthusiastic teacher who believes in creating an environment in which students can learn and experience the joy of making music. Throughout years of extensive teaching experience, I have helped students across a wide spectrum of levels, ages and ability levels to love making music.
My degrees in Music Education and three decades of experience in piano instruction, theatre and Judging Festivals (Nyssma and FSMTA) have enabled me to discover what motivates students so that they experience the gift of self-expression through music. A comprehensive program with emphasis on note reading, technique development, music theory, ear training, artistic interpretation and expression is tailored to meet each student’s assessed competencies, developmental level and, most importantly, their personality!
I studied piano with Julliard Instructor, Mario DeJesu; Musical analysis with Raoul Pleskow, Vocal music with Larry Eisman and Electronic music with Herbert Deutsch, a pioneer in the field. One of the most important legacy’s I was left with of their training is that each student is as individual as the music they will be learning and that different approaches or methods may be successfully applied.
Students come to a new teacher with an endless variety of previous experiences. It is my responsibility as a teacher to analyze my students’ needs on an individual basis, and provide each one with an approach that will best suit his/her personal development. As a teacher, my job is to foster the strengths, and address all issues that need improvement. During my tenure as Head Instructor at The Piano Lab on Long Island, I had the unique experience of teaching piano to thousands of students over the course of my career. A famous alumni of the District I worked in, Billy Joel, served as an inspiration to all the students of what can be accomplished when motivation and love for this instrument are combined.
Often, teaching and learning piano occurs in a one-on-one setting such as private lessons. Thus, it is paramount that I treat each student as an individual with different needs and learning styles; a one-size-fits-all approach will definitely not suffice. To be effective, I strive to discover what motivates each student from the beginning. Also, I recognize the fact that different music students will have different goals: a recreational player, a middle school band director in training, and an aspiring concert soloist will have different aspirations and will benefit from different teaching techniques.
I love what I do and am enthusiastic about helping you or your child meet their musical goals and ambitions.
I have numerous Professional Music Association Memberships including: FSMTA, FMEA, MENC, MTNA, NMEA, NYSSMA and SCMEA,
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