Michael L
Instruments: Piano, Organ, Synthesizer, Keyboard
Styles: Classical
Michael L
Instruments: Piano, Organ, Synthesizer, Keyboard
Styles:
Classical
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 6-80
- 24 years of piano study
- Bachelor's in Vocal Performance from Ithaca College ('13)
- Master's in Collaborative Piano from Arizona State University ('17)
2016 - Aspen Music Festival Yefim Bronfman Scholarship
2016 Special Talent Scholarship - ASU
2017 - Arizona State University Concert Competition Winner
2017-2019 - Marion Rose Pullin Studio Artist
I am a dedicated music performer and instructor who loves to share with others all the joys and challenges that music making has to offer. I have been a pianist since the time I was 5, when I would "practice" countless hours. I put quotes around the word practice because to me it never felt like something so tedious as the word practice sounds. Learning music has always been much more like a game to me. In my last years of high school, I became very interested in singing, although piano was still my main instrument. I decided that I could really benefit from going to school for singing while continuing studies as a pianist. I graduated from Ithaca College with my bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance after putting on several vocal recitals and performing in 4 of the school's mainstage operas. Immediately following my Undergraduate, I landed a job as Assistant Music Director at Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY. I served as pianist, coach, and chorus master for 2 years while also teaching at SUNY Binghamton. From 2015-2019 I lived in Phoenix, AZ as I decided to pursue a Master's degree in Collaborative Piano at Arizona State University. I graduated from ASU 2017 and went on to be a Studio Artist at Arizona Opera for two seasons. Throughout the past decade I have worked with organizations such as Albany Symphony, Aspen Music Festival, Arizona MusicFest, University of Arizona, Cincinnati Opera, CoOPERAtive, Glimmerglass Music Festival, International Vocal Arts Institute, Mill City Summer Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Portland Opera. I currently run a non-profit organization called Aural Compass Projects and live in upstate NY with my partner and 3 rabbits.
I have been teaching private lessons for about 6 years. I have taught in-home, in-studio, and online lessons. I believe that there are benefits to all different approaches, but for now I am only offering online lessons (during the pandemic) as they work best for my schedule and for reaching a wider student pool. Daily playing (or at least every other day) is at the core of my teaching. I think it is essential to build piano playing into part of your daily schedule so it becomes something that is more familiar and therefore becoming more natural. My foundations are built on classical music, but I enjoy exploring jazz, funk, and more modern styles as well. It doesn't matter what your level is or what style you most prefer, we will be able to find a way to combine music making and learning to best suit your needs.
My methods are totally dependent on what my student's needs and goals are. For younger beginners I like to use a combination of learning the basics (rhythm, reading music, scales) with music that is familiar to them (theme song from a favorite show or movie, favorite or familiar song). I think it's important to teach children that they can begin to make music that they recognize early on without years and years of study. For adults, I like to use the same principles as I do with young beginners, however, I let the adults decide more what type of music they want to work towards.
My main goal when I am teaching one-on-one lessons is to share my love of music, to get the student to view music making with the same wonder that I did when I was first began playing. The last thing I want is to have my students feeling like playing piano is a chore. Because of this, I like to have a few different personal goals running concurrently. When it comes to repertoire I like to have pieces that are easy enough that a student can learn a new song every lesson while also working on a larger work that takes several lessons to complete. I find that having variety in lesson pieces is also very important for the student's enjoyment and also mine. I will always keep a clear, open dialogue with the student to make sure they understand my teaching and are benefiting from our lessons.
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