Lesson Details
Classical Piano
- Levels Taught:
- Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
I've taught piano since I was in high school, and continued to teach while I was a student at Cornell University. I also taught theory classes in the Cornell Piano Society, where I served as President for 4 years.
Why? I simply love music, piano, and sharing it with others.
While I'm classically trained, I've dabbled into other genres, such as Jazz, Rock, Pop, R&B, songwriting, and music production / audio engineering. I've recently been accepted into the Steinway & Sons (the piano makers) Teacher Partnership Program. Feel free to message me for more details!
Marwan teaches
About
- Teaches students:
- Ages 6+ and special needs
- Teaching since:
- August 2006
I started playing piano when I was 3, and began writing music at the age of 6. I've taught music and piano for over 12 years, and tutoring other subjects for over 5 years.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, I graduated from Cornell University in Electrical & Computer Engineering, with a minor in Music.
As a student, I was President of the Cornell Piano Society for 4 years. I spent much time teaching piano and music theory to fellow Cornell students, faculty, and staff. I've also organized many concerts, recitals, and events during my tenure.
After college, I went on to work for Intel & Apple as an engineer, while continuing to teach and tutor on the side. Later on, I founded my own startup company centered around Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, and unmet needs in the B2C market.
I typically travel to each student's home for lessons. I travel all around the Bay Area: as far north as Richmond, as far south as Los Gatos, as far East as Livermore (and every place in between, including the Peninsula).
Experience
Founder & CEO
Jun 2014 - Presentebo Innovations is an online gifting services company. Name your price, and we'll pick your gift! In order to make the perfect selection, we take the time to get to know you, your personality, and your interests.
As with any start-up, it's exciting to do something new and innovative. I started the company with a new approach to online shopping and gifting.
Check out our NVIDIA article:
https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2016/11/25/ebo-deep-learning-gift-giving
iOS Power Management & Battery Life Engineer
Aug 2013 - Aug 2015In short, I helped make iPhone, iPad, and other device batteries last longer! =)
This position was a mix of hardware and software. Basically anything that consumes power, my team played a role in it.
Component Design Engineer
Oct 2011 - Mar 2013I also did summer internships in 2008 and 2009.
Piano & Music Theory Instructor
Aug 2007 - Jun 2011I've had over 30 piano students during my time at Cornell. My students were a mix of Cornell students, outside students, one administrator, and one professor.
I also taught a music theory course offered by the Cornell Piano society for 2 years, as well as music theory and composition / songwriting in private lessons.
President
Aug 2006 - Jun 2011As President, I grew the organization from just a handful of members when I first started, to a large organization with over 200 active members, 13 officers, 20 special committee members, and $13,000 semesterly in my last term.
Under my tenure, I created a peer based system for private piano lessons and music theory lessons. I also help coordinate events and performances throughout the school year.
Technical Intern
Jun 2005 - Aug 2005While in high school, I had an awesome internship at NASA. I worked in one of the laser research labs dealing with photonic energy and interference patterns. I also built a robot using C and PBASIC.
Education
Minor in Music
Aug 2006 - Jun 2011Electrical & Computer Engineering
Aug 2006 - Jun 2011Languages
Chinese - Mandarin
English
Awards
Mathematic Achievement Medal
May 2006Affiliations
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
Mar 2010The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is a membership association of more than 480,000 US composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers. The ASCAP is committed to nurturing music makers throughout their careers.
Photos & Videos
13 Reviews
Write a ReviewWonderful teacher!!
Marwan has put a lot of effort both in and out of our lesson slot to make these sessions a great learning experience for our 14 year old daughter. His weekly recap emails are terrific, too.
Marwan always has smile on his face. And I have the very first python lesson with him. He is a great teacher.
We could not be happier with Marwan! Most importantly, my daughter is thriving with his instruction -- though we like him too :) Marwin brings expansive experience in piano and beyond. For piano, he's got a great balance of being exacting and precise with instructions yet just as flexible as we need him to be if my daughter hasn't been able to practice due to other demands. We like that he doesn't make her feel guilty about that -- but is patient and able to get her on track so she can fulfill her amazing musical potential. We love his in-depth knowledge in a variety of things and he's charming, warm, and humorous to be around. Highly recommended: you'll enjoy meeting and working with him.
+ Read MoreWow! We are so grateful for Marwan. He comes to our home, teaches 3 hours of 5 consecutive lessons and he still has a smile on his face when he leaves late in the evening. He's knowledgeable, patient, encouraging and enjoyable. His expectations are high, but attainable. I have seen a marked improvement in my children during the last three months of lessons!
+ Read MoreWe had a great first lesson. Very relaxed and unassuming. Looking forward to upcoming lessons.
Terrific with our small kids. Extremely patient and easy to laugh
My boys took to him right away! He has a fantastic balance of high expectations/standards mixed with positive reinforcement. He also differentiated expertly with the 2 boys' ages/capacities. We look forward to continuing our lessons with him!
My boys took to him right away! He has a fantastic balance of high expectations/standards mixed with positive reinforcement. He also differentiated expertly with the 2 boys' ages/capacities. We look forward to continuing our lessons with him!
Marwan makes learning piano fun!
Marwan makes learn
So far I've had 5 classes with Marwan and I have to say he is GREAT!!
He has helped me improved significantly within this short period with both piano skills and theories. Marwan makes sure to understand your skill level and music knowledge in the 1st class and prepare the class based on your current skill level. I am in my late 20's and considered a beginner player, I was a little nervous in the beginning that I won't be able to learn as quickly as younger kids do and might struggle. But that thought disappeared immediately after my first 2 classes with Marwan. He understood it very well about what I wanted to learn and needed to improve at that stage. The class with him is super FUN.
I've had other instructors in the past but I always ended losing interests in playing after a while for various reasons. Because of that, in comparison I can say Marwan is very different from my past instructors and experiences, I enjoy the class very much and always look forward to the following week's class to find out what I will learn next.
He can be strict sometimes but because of that, you are always reminded what's not right with your plays.
I am very satisfied so far and HIGHLY RECOMMEND Marwan!!!
(But at the same time if he gets tooooo popular, I will be sad not to have the flexibility of getting his classes...lol)
Marwan is amazing!
He impressed me already the first minutes of the first lesson he gave my son in AP Calculus BC by asking specific questions and pin pointing where my son might need help. After that he has come prepared and focused with materials for each tutoring session.
Marwan's piano credentials speak for themselves but I want to underscore that he is really good at adjusting to the student's level and making it fun. My daughter always tells me afterwards *it is so much fun with Marwan!*.
On top of all that, Marwan is a good, kind person and a really cool guy. You could not be in better hands.