Ada has been teaching piano privately in this area for over 25 years. Her students consistently receive Outstanding ratings in annual National Piano Guild and NYSSMA Music Festivals. Her students have been winners and selected performers in the Honors Recitals at SUNY New Paltz. In 2019, one student was accepted to major in classical piano performance at SUNY New Paltz, studying with Dr. Alex Peh. In 2020, another student won the SUNY Orange Concerto/Aria Competition, and performed a Concerto with the SUNY Orange Community Orchestra at the Paramount Theatre in Middletown.
Ada has been teaching virtually since March 2020, and is now welcoming vaccinated students back into her home studio for in-person private lessons. For those not vaccinated, she will continue to teach virtually. For new students, she offers a first "trial lesson" with no charge.
More Studio Information
Location
My private music studio is located in my home in Northern Orange County, Town of Newburgh. The studio has comfortable seating areas for parents who are encouraged to be present, especially during the lessons of younger students.
Teaching Methods & Goals
It is very important that the students enjoy their learning experience. Students do not play or learn well with tension. I believe that every lesson must be a good balance of challenge and fun.
I love teaching piano, and have successfully taught many students, ranging in age from 4 years to adult, from complete beginner to very advanced. My goal with all my students is to help develop and further their true enjoyment of music, and their capability to play and perform to the best of their abilities. Every student is a unique individual of course, so no two students are taught exactly alike. With my younger students, I prefer to use the Suzuki method, which develops a fine awareness of tonal quality, and enables the rapid technical advance of the student. As students progress, I offer pieces in jazz &/or blues styles, as well as classical, to enlarge the variety of their repertoire. For more advanced students, we work on increasingly demanding repertoire to expand and strengthen their technical and musical ease with, and command of, this wonderful instrument.
The study of an instrument is a long-term commitment. The technical development of the fine muscles, and the discerning ear to guide, takes time to grow. A student does need to understand that progress only occurs with regular practice. According to level, the time spent with the piano varies greatly, but the commitment to fairly regular practice is a built-in discipline which is also, of course, a good life-lesson.
I give my students the groundwork of a good technique from the very beginning~ even the littlest beginners learn to have good phrasing, which enables them to make lovely music, out of even simple pieces. For my students interested in jazz &/or blues, I bring the benefit of my long experience playing theatrical shows, and for my more advanced students I bring my classical training and performance experience to develop and refine their musical expression and technical strength.
Student Performances
NYSSMA and National Piano Guild offer annual Piano Auditions, in which students on different levels perform for selected judges who evaluate their playing. For those students ready and wishing to participate, I coach them for these events in the course of their lessons. For more advanced students, there is also the Honors Recital Auditions at SUNY New Paltz, in which selected students perform in the Honors Recital held there. Students of mine have been selected every year to perform in that Honors Recital, and have also achieved State, National, and even International ratings in the Piano Guild Auditions. For some years now, students of mine have also almost consistently received Outstanding ratings at the NYSSMA Music Festivals. College-bound high school seniors have their piano programs coached to perform for scholarship auditions. Every June, all of my students play at our annual Piano Recital, held at a lovely church with an excellent piano.