Teacher

It is my goal as a music teacher to provide a comprehensive and well-rounded program of instruction in order to grow students’ appreciation and understanding of music. For this development to take place a balanced approach involving technique, theory, sight-reading, ear training and a variety of solo and ensemble repertory is needed. Students are encouraged to attend concerts and to participate in programs designed to enhance progress like workshops, masterclasses, public recitals, music festivals, competitions and RCM exams. Learning to play the piano well is an enormous challenge, often requiring many years of hard work and outstanding teaching. Students are respected as individuals with unique facilities and challenges. That said, effective progress depends on both effort and quality in practice. Parents are encouraged to support and provide guidance at home, particularly for younger children that might need questions answered and that are still in the process of developing good learning habits. A regular practice schedule that won’t conflict with other family or school activities is highly recommended.

As a teacher I aim to do to my students what other great pedagogues and luminaries thankfully did for me in the past: I aim to instill a sincere love for music, for the adventure of learning, I aim to open students' hearts and minds to be sensitive to beauty and to all the other depths of expression music can achieve. This is the cornerstone of my method. With this in place all the other difficult tasks as a teacher begin to fall nicely in place: self discipline, hard-work, the thirst for the pursuit of mastery. Only by reaching into the meaning of the music true enjoyment of performing and learning is born. The great Canadian pianist Glenn Gould said it best “The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but rather the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity.”