Garden City, NY Piano Lessons

ion is offered for all levels (1-6).

*** Studio Equipment
Piano, keyboard; den dedicated to music. Extensive musical library.

*** Specialties ***
Students with special needs

struction is a highly individualized art. The melding of both the technical and the personal aspects of singing is the dynamic that creates an effective and successful teaching/learning experience. Augmenting my teaching experience, I have been heavily involved in productions with children and young adults, using my musical knowledge, vocal expertise and skill in dance and choreography.

I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. I am a professional singer and actress and a member of Equity and SAG-AFTRA.

*** Lesson Details ***
I find that when a student arrives for their lesson, they usually are a bit tense, either because they were stuck in traffic, had a bad day at work, did poorly on a test at school, etc. So we always start with some stretches to loosen up and clear the mind. For voice students, we'll move on to technique building, working with breathing exercises, learning about good support and placement. Next, we'll continue the warm up with a series of varied exercises-think "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music-and then move on to songs. Your repertoire will be varied. You'll be singing classical music (really helps to build and strengthen the voice), music theater, pop, country and anything you may be interested in singing! That being said, since this is your lesson time, you may need to prepare for an audition, a solo at church or some other performance and may need to devote your entire lesson to that preparation. And that's fine with me. We need to be flexible to help you get the most from your time with me!

Whatever you are studying, always know that my primary goal is your growth as a musician and performer.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Open loft area with a black grand piano. Music. Cabinets. Seating for parents. Street parking available for those who are driving. 5 minute walk to subway. 1 small dog and one cat.

*** Travel Equipment ***
I can provide a digital recorder & cassette recorder. I find it is better for my students to have their own voice recorder but I can record for them.

*** Specialties ***
My experience as a performer has been varied, ranging from fronting a rock band in the 80's to cantoring for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to music theater (I am a member of Equity & SAG) to jingle & commercial work. I specialize in music theater and classical but am very comfortable working with pop & rock.

and Radio City Music Hall, 54 Below, The Jazz Standard, Bowery Ballroom, Shapeshifter and Flushing Town Hall in New York, my fire for wanting to develop my teaching did also. I was always thinking back to what my old teachers gave me, inspiration. I then understood that inspiration is the key to success in life.

*** Lesson Details ***
Lessons will be something the student looks forward to every week. We will work through common method books and learn material that the student has an interest in. For example, some students want to learn to play high notes, a popular song, improvise, or write their own songs. I am a laid back guy, but I do expect effort in the lessons and at home. I believe whatever you put into music is what you get out of it, and I will inspire and motivate the student to get as much out of the lessons as they can. Students will create, with my advisement, and update short term and long term goals every few months.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Keyboard or Piano and Music Stand

*** Travel Equipment ***
They should provide their instrument, instrument care products (valve oil), method books and sheet music.

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in jazz and classical music. I use many common methods depending on how the student tends to learn the best, and will even combine different methods if the student requires it.

, training is applicable to any new skill.
Last and definitely not least, playing music is fun.

*** Lesson Details ***

I plan my lessons around getting students to enjoy playing music as soon as possible, whether that means learning how to strum a chord rhythmically, playing their favorite song, or how to take a blues solo.
There are steps that have to be climbed to do more complex things and I encourage students to practice a little every day rather than for a long time once or twice a week. Developing a love of music and steady practice habits are more beneficial over the long term than practicing until your limit.

*** Studio Equipment ***
I currently have a living room space where I can teach, but it's small so it might be preferable to travel to you.

*** Travel Equipment ***
If necessary I can provide amplification, cables, and a microphone.

*** Specialties ***
Jazz, Folk, Blues, Rock, Hip-hop, Funk, Reggae.

poser, I've penned over 15 charts for Jazz Ensemble, in addition to several charts for Studio Orchestra, Jazz Combos, Chamber Groups, Vocal Groups, and Film, and I've won a few awards, including 1st Place in the International Zurich Jazz Orchestra Composition Competition, a 2011 ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award, and a 2012 ASCAP Plus Award. I co-lead a jazz orchestra that has performed in several NYC clubs. My pieces have also been performed by her own chamber group "Community of the Spirit," Kurt Elling and the Metropole Orchestra the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, Todd Coolman's Quintet, the Eastman Jazz Ensemble and Studio Orchestra, Bernie Williams and the William Paterson Jazz Orchestra, Weapons of Jazz Destruction, and others.

I've also been inspired by many teachers along the way. I have a BM in Jazz Writing (Composition) with high distinction from the Eastman School of Music, and an MM in Jazz Arranging from William Paterson University. My composition and piano teachers have included Jim McNeely, Bill Dobbins, Rich DeRosa, Harold Danko, Raymond Torres-Santos, Tony Caramia, and Adrien Cohen, and I am a current member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in NYC.

I'm a very passionate teacher and I'm excited to begin your musical journey!

*** Lesson Details ***
In addition to a customized lesson plan (dependent on your goals, strengths, weaknesses, and interests) you get introduced to a wide variety of styles and concepts. Some of the things you will do in your musical adventure with me include:

1) Learn classical pieces ranging from short Bach Minuets if you're a beginner, to Chopin Nocturnes and Bach Preludes and Fugues if you're advanced.
2) Learn the "why" behind music... Why does this sound quirky? Where does the musical statement end? What harmony is the composer using?
3) Write your own music. We might take a new concept you learned, and you may compose a song based on it. Or you may have your own ideas, and I'll help you take them to the next level.
4) Learn to improvise and learn how to play some jazz. You will play over blues and learn jazz standards. You will also learn how to play by ear.
5) Learn basic conducting.

*** Studio Equipment ***
home: fully-weighted keyboard, seating for parents, music stands, sheet music, printer (for printing custom handouts), free wi-fi
music studio : fully-weighted keyboard, seating for parents, music stands, sheet music, printer (for printing custom handouts), free wi-fi

*** Specialties ***
I teach classical and jazz, and usually like to incorporate both into lessons at some point, even if the student may have a greater interest in one of these (so you don't have the classical pianist that has never played one note not written in the music or doesn't know how to spell a simple major triad, and you don't have a jazz pianist whose reading skills is not up to par, and has no regard for tone/touch). Typically students not only read classical repertoire (Bach, Beethoven, Bartok, Kabelevsky, etc.) but also learn how to improvise over a blues, read a lead sheet, and figure music out by ear. I'm also comfortable with rock styles.

I also have a lot of experience accompanying (musical theatre, instrumental, vocal...) and I like teaching the student how to follow a soloist. I teach students how to read lead sheets so they can read whatever they may get from a vocalist, and I teach chord theory so that they can easier recognize patterns in music when playing with an instrumentalist or vocalist.

I incorporate composition and theory into lessons, usually in conjunction with whatever piece they are learning (explain what type of chords are in their piece, or explain how they move, or why something may sound discordant or may go somewhere expected, or I may teach them phrases in music just like sentences work in English.) I definitely, however, work with students who are more serious in composition as well and talk about how to develop their pieces, how to create ideas, how to get out of a "writers block," orchestration techniques, encourage them to expand their instrumentation, etc.

aim as I have continued to tour the world. I have opened for legends such as David Bowie, Ron Sexsmith, Robyn Hitchcock, Morphine, Bob Mould, Freedy Johnston, among many others. I have produced over a dozen albums by other artists and songwriters, and composed for major motion pictures including last years film, WON’T BACK DOWN starring Maggie Gyllenhaal.

“In a career spanning more than 20 years, he has established himself as one of America's great under-the-radar songwriters. Had he emerged five decades back, he might have been a Tin Pan Alley stalwart, turning out intelligent, accessible songwriting with the clockwork genius of and Gary Goffin. His work is rife with the clever, incisive tunefulness that marked that era.”-- National Public Radio

*** Lesson Details ***
Students can expect to discover or re-discover their love for music and and their own natural musical inclinations. Many students report an increased sense of joy and possibility in their own lives. Curriculum depends on level of student, but is focused on being able to play favorite songs, develop comfort and ease in playing style, and accessing creativity and originality in approach. After 3 to 6 months working with me, most students can feel comfortable calling themselves a musician!

*** Specialties ***
I teach mainly guitar, keyboards, ukelele, and voice from beginning up to intermediate. I try to incorporate songwriting into the process as i find that it speeds up the process and helps to encourage enthusiasm and a more focused effort and better results. I am fluent in most styles but come from a folk, rock, country, pop background. I also have a home studio and use recording techniques to develop style and vocal ability.

or the Performing Arts, and the Beijing Concert Hall. Additionally, Rixiang has appeared as a guest soloist with orchestras around the world including Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, China National Symphony Orchestra, Indonesia National Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Music Festival Orchestra, and Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. He has worked with such pre-eminent Maestros such as Jac Van Steen, Joel Smirnoff, Earl Lee, Eric Garcia and Gabriel Laufer. His performances have been broadcast by BBC, Classic FM, WCLV, China Radio International and Radio Online Indonesia.

Rixiang has been a featured artist at Bowdoin International Music Festival, Chautauqua International Music Festival, Art of the Piano at the University of Cincinnati, Piano Texas, Piano New Paltz, and Pianofest in the Hamptons. He has performed in master classes with Sergei Babayan, Stephen Hough, John Perry, Robert Levin, Vladimir Feltsman, Dimitry Alexeev, Valdimir Ovchinnikov, Veda Kaplinsky and many other world-renowned pianists and pedagogues. As an avid chamber performer, he was selected to participate in the Advanced Piano Trio Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music, directed by cellist Sharon Robinson of the acclaimed Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.
The laureate of many prestigious international piano competitions include top prizes in Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition, Dallas International Piano Competition, New York International Artists Piano Competition, ASEAN International Concerto Competition, United States Virtuosic International Piano Competition, and Chautauqua Music Festival Piano Competition.

ing piano: additionally I'm in the very beginning stages of developing these ideas into a mobile/web application to further encourage consistent learning habits outside of lessons.

I look forward to meeting with you!