Early Piano Career
I began playing piano around 2005. I soon began taking lessons because of my desire to improve my playing and to gain traction in music. I continued studying piano playing in this fashion for a few years and also started playing the trumpet. I continued playing both throughout high school, first with piano in the jazz band and trumpet in the wind ensemble, and later mostly first chair trumpet in both. I continued studying piano and partook in various opportunities including finishing among the top 4 in a Symphony Orchestra Piano Concerto Competition (performing Beethoven’s ‘Emporer’ Concerto) and beginning teaching piano to numerous students.
Piano Academy and Master Class Experience
During the summer before college I attended the Lamont School of Music Academy for piano performance and studied with teachers throughout the country in piano technique, performance and repertoire. The repertoire I studied included Chopin’s Revolutionary etude, Liszt’s Transcendental Etude No. 11 (“Harmonies du Soir”) and Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet in a dedicated chamber group. At this time I was introduced to the Taubman technique for piano performance which stresses an advanced, technique-based approach to playing piano masterfully, musically and effortlessly. Having encountered various ceilings and discomforts in my more advanced pieces, I decided to look into the solutions that this approach promised and eventually chose to spend a year retraining from the start to fully integrate the technique.
Recent Technique and Successes
I spent that year retraining with Taubman-certified instructor Brenna Berman, who has worked with Robert Durso and Edna Golandsky in the approach, to revamp my technique from square one and to solidify the principles of proper playing. The technique emphasizes healthy, coordinated, and unified movement as the foundation for playing musically and overcoming technical challenges. There is a huge array of tools that are utilized in very specified ways to accommodate the hands and produce a refined, effortless and coordinated technique. I have been working on the technique ever since and continue practicing, playing, and teaching. I teach piano playing for intermediate to advanced students and music theory and composition as well.
