Bio

I am from Oakland, California and began teaching lessons in public and private schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area when I was in high school. I have studied, composed and performed a variety of musical styles throughout my life because music brings joy and meaning to my life. I enjoy teaching piano in a way that brings joy and meaning to my student’s lives.

I moved to New York at 19 to study jazz at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where I received my BFA. Later, I received an M.A. and Ed.M. in Music and Music Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. I am currently pursuing a MM in New Schools Performer-Composer program. In addition to being a full-time general music teacher at PS/MS 333 in Manhattan, I spent 7 years teaching piano at Hackley School in Tarrytown, NY, 5 years teaching piano at The Berkeley Carroll School, and 3 years at The International School of Brooklyn. I have also composed and directed childrens’ musicals at Kaufman’s Summer Musical Theater Workshop.

I have excellent references; employers and parents will attest to the fact that my  students (even those who hated piano lessons with a previous instructor) genuinely love taking lessons with me. I frequently have a waiting list, and most of my students choose to stick with me for years.

Teaching Info

In terms of beginning lessons, I value the Faber Piano Adventures, as the books include a variety of styles, theory, ear-training, sight-reading, composition, and improvisation. Outside of method books, 

I encourage students to learn their favorite songs by ear, learning chords for the left-hand with the melody in the right. I also encourage students to write their own music, and this is always idiosyncratic to who they are.

I have had students move on to specialized music schools and careers as musicians, and I also host piano recitals for those that enjoy performing. That said, I am not the type of piano teacher that focuses on perfecting one or two pieces over months, but rather teach just-right leveled pieces that take a week or two to learn, that way students learn to play and create music on their own, which benefits them throughout their life.