BeniciaPiano.com

I love my work.

For many years I have been finding ways to communicate to my students how to understand music, grow technically, pay attention to detail, develop artistry, and improve performance skills. Along the way, they build self-confidence and learn

to both love and respect music!

I have always believed that if a student has comprehension, can play and read

music without assistance, combined with an inner sense that they are doing it

extremely well, they have fun! Thus, their chances of following through on the dedication necessary

to master the instrument increases with each passing year.

I spend a lot of time discovering the inherent strengths of each student -- then determining which skills can be improved. MANY skills are needed to learn piano--

and I address all of them tailored to the needs of the individual. As a result, my

students on the whole play very well and can read music fairly easily, and perform

in our bi-annual recitals with great skill. (memorized) There is a sense of pride in

their work which shines through in these performances, even as young as 4 1/2 years

of age! However, this is NOT a competitive environment. I have found that the

students have created their own supportive community, learning to appreciate each

other through their performances over the years.

Ultimately, my goal every second is to inspire authentic music within my students--

with a comprehension that they will be able to access throughout their lives. The

majority of my students have been studying with me for 2-7 years. We manage to

work around sports, dance, theatre and other interests, and of course schoolwork.

I try to tailor each students' lesson toward success based on each persons' level of desire and time commitment-- However, the essential teaching process remains the same.

In the past 10 years   two of my students have been accepted into the High School of the Arts in San Francisco, (SOTA) as piano students. In addition, several of my students have become accompanists (some as early as 8th grade), or music teachers. In Spring of 2014, a former student graduated from San Francisco State University in Piano performance, one former student is studying at NYU school of Jazz, and I am proud to announce my latest graduating senior, Melody Sparks (BHS 2015) is attending Azusa Pacific University in the fall, majoring in music and piano.