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Irene Z In Home Teaches Online
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Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Folk, Country, Showtunes, New Age

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Irene Z   In Home Teaches Online
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Folk, Country, Showtunes, New Age

Where I Teach:
In Your Home Online
Ages Taught: 80-80
Levels Taught:

EMAIL US OR CALL 877-687-4524

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ABOUT
Degrees / Training / Special Info:

B.A. University of IL at Chicago, Music and Psychology.                                  Masters classes, Private Piano, American Conservatory of Music, 7 years - Jazz Piano, Theory, Classical & Improvisation, under virtuoso pianist Frank Caruso.  Masters classes, Private Jazz Piano and improvisation, Fine Arts Building, 3 years, under Peter Scheiner. Private Voice, DePaul University, 3 years, under Barbara Staley.                       Certificate in Creative Arts for Young Children, Emphasis on Music & Art, Harper College.                                                                                                                  Jazz Ensemble, Old Town School of Folk Music, 2 years. Learned keyboard technique & improvisation playing in 15 piece jazz ensemble under David Jennings.       

Awards:

Over 25 years of piano and piano/vocal performance experience in Chicago and overseas including 2 year bookings at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place Hotel,  the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, the Hamilton Stouffer Hotel, Itasca, IL; 1 year bookings at the Ambassador West Hotel, the Westin O'Hare, the Renaissance Chicago Hotel; 6 to 9 month bookings at the Palmer House Hotel, the Drake Hotel, the Chicago Hilton Hotel, the Hotel Intercontinental, the Knickerbocker Hotel, the Park Hyatt Hotel, the Sofitel Hotel, O'Hare Hilton, the Waldorf Astoria, the Omni Chicago Hotel.                            

Overseas Engagements include: The Manza Beach Resort Hotel, Okinawa, Japan (4 months), The Nagano Metropolitan Hotel, Nagano, Japan, (4 months), Hotel Reisen, Stockholm, Sweden (6 months), Princess Cruise Lines in the Mediterranean (6 months) and others.

Overview:
I am a second generation pianist and piano teacher who began lessons at the age of 4 under M.M. DePaul graduate and longtime piano teacher, Kathryn, my mother. My musical studies were continued in college at the University of IL at Chicago, and after graduating, at the American Conservatory of Music, where I enrolled in private Masters classes for 7 years (jazz piano, improvisation & other styles). I have over 25 years of international piano and piano/vocal performance experience, which includes the opportunity to perform in Okinawa, Japan at the exquisite 5 star Manza Beach Resort Hotel for 4 months. I have taught piano to children age 5 - adults for 20 years. Teaching is a great joy and inspiration that enriches my life musically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. My ultimate goal is to give my students a life-long passion for making music. I maintain both an active performance and teaching schedule, am a member of Music Teachers National, Chicago Area Music Teachers Association, Piano Teachers Federation and continue my music education through attending seminars, workshops and through taking private lessons.
EXPERIENCE
Shortly after graduating from college, I began teaching private lessons part time in students' homes, and have taught continuously for 20 years. Within this period, I also taught both private piano to children and adults and group piano for pre-schoolers at Chicago's renowned Old Town School of Folk Music for 4 years. I am passionate about teaching, enjoy watching my students progress and am thrilled to see their enthusiasm for music grow. I am intrigued by the variety of each individual student's learning style, abilities, interests and personality, and love the creativity of designing tailor made lesson plans. Students progress at their own pace and enjoy learning a variety of musical styles. Daily practice, parental involvement, participation in recitals and attending live music performances are strongly encouraged. I especially love teaching children and have an excellent rapport with them.
METHODS USED
For 5 to 6 year old beginners, I create an individualized lesson plan based on observing the student's learning style, strengths and weaknesses as well as personality. For the first 4 or more lessons, this includes my own big-note, large-symbol work sheets and simple songs. Next, and with older or more advanced students, I use a combination of lesson, technique and performance method books (Faber, Bastien, Hal Leonard), a scale/chording book and adjunct material consisting of songs the student wants to learn such as pop/rock, movie themes, holiday and theme music, and classical, to maintain interest and enjoyment. Adults express their interests to me,  and I tailor the lessons so they can reach their goals, keeping the lessons captivating. Many adults who have had several years of lessons want to learn to interpret chord symbols so they can play just the melody in the right hand and chords in the left hand. From my extensive jazz and improvisation background, I excel and delight in teaching this skill.
LESSON STYLE
I believe students must first acquire competence in theory and proper technique, followed by artistic expression. My teaching style is encouraging, patient, thorough, nurturing, engaging, challenging and fun. To progress, students must practice daily. I let my students know that quality and focus of practice is far more important than duration. They learn to isolate 2 or 3 measures, and repeat them slowly until accuaracy is achieved consistently. I convey my love of teaching by: complimenting students on achieving goals, smiling, being energetic, making sure the student lets me know when he/she does not understand a concept and re-explaing it until it is understood with gentleness and patience, bringing in adjunct music from which the student, after hearing me play several excerpts, can select several pieces, playing duets with the student, and encouraging students to compose their own songs by ear, which I later notate.
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