About Alex

Specialization: Piano

I learned to play the piano when I was 8 years old.  But like most kids I quickly gave it up.  In my late teens, a friend introduced me to Chopin’s music and I have been working diligently at the piano ever since. While my college training was in engineering and mathematics, I had the good fortune to study the piano for a couple of years with Professor Robert Helps at the University of South Florida. Professor Helps was a world-class pianist and composer who had  studied with Roger Sessions, a Princeton professor of composition, and Abby Whiteside a well-known piano teacher.  Professor Helps was a big proponent of Whiteside’s ideas of efficient piano technique.    I try to bring these ideas to my students.

For me, teaching the piano is about giving my students a tool to explore music.  It is not surprising that most great composers are piano players.  The piano is the best human interface ever invented.  It was invented to generate music.

I take a very broad approach to teaching the piano involving learning good technique, harmony, aural theory, how to improvise, and how to perform.

Favorite Artist:

Charles Dickens
Jane Austen

Hobbies:

Cycle, Chess, Reading