I am passionate about teaching and truly enjoy working with students of all ages and levels. I believe in highly structured and comprehensive music education. My goal is to start building a solid musical foundation right from the beginning stages. This includes incorporating ear training, sight reading, technique, theory, and improvisation into each lesson. I will provide a clear structure for both the private instruction and the practice assignments at home. By incorporating technology into the lessons on a regular basis, I try to help my students reach their full potential while having fun.
My musical journey started at the age of four, when I started taking piano lessons in Helsinki, Finland. I was inspired at an early age about teaching by my first teacher, Arja Suorsa-Rannanmäki. This lead me to my undergraduate studies at the Helsinki Conservatory and I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in music pedagogy. I moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 2002 to pursue my graduate studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music and graduated with a Master of Music in piano performance and pedagogy. Before relocating to the San Francisco Bay area in 2015, I ran a successful private studio in Toronto for 10 years teaching students of all levels and ages. My students regularly performed at music festivals and participated in the Royal Conservatory Examinations. Now I enjoy getting to know all the new students entering into my private studio in Alameda, California.
Through my extensive studies in piano pedagogy both in Europe and North America I have been exposed to a great variety of different teaching methods. Combined with 20 years of teaching experience this wide knowledge enables me to plan an individual approach for each student of any age or level. My goal is to encourage each student to become a well-rounded musician while maintaining a life-long love for music.
My role as a Senior Examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music allows me to regularly hear and examine music students of different levels across Canada and USA. This gives me a great joy to celebrate the achievements of all the hard working students across the continent. I enjoy mentoring and supporting young teachers who are at the beginning of their careers. In recent years I have been teaching workshops on the Colour Keys piano method that originates in Finland. I will guide the teachers step-by-step on how to use this beginner piano method in their studios.
Aside from teaching, I remain active as a performer. In recent years my solo and collaborative performances have taken me into many cities across Canada and USA. As a native of Finland, I like to promote Scandinavian composers in my repertoire. My debut CD Jean Sibelius - Compositions for Piano was released in 2008. My active collaboration with soprano Cindy Koistinen as Duo Freya produced another recording Diamonds of the North – Songs from Scandinavia in 2010.
My musical journey started at the age of four, when I started taking piano lessons in Helsinki, Finland. I was inspired at an early age about teaching by my first teacher, Arja Suorsa-Rannanmäki. This lead me to my undergraduate studies at the Helsinki Conservatory and I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in music pedagogy. I moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 2002 to pursue my graduate studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music and graduated with a Master of Music in piano performance and pedagogy. Before relocating to the San Francisco Bay area in 2015, I ran a successful private studio in Toronto for 10 years teaching students of all levels and ages. My students regularly performed at music festivals and participated in the Royal Conservatory Examinations. Now I enjoy getting to know all the new students entering into my private studio in Alameda, California.
Through my extensive studies in piano pedagogy both in Europe and North America I have been exposed to a great variety of different teaching methods. Combined with 20 years of teaching experience this wide knowledge enables me to plan an individual approach for each student of any age or level. My goal is to encourage each student to become a well-rounded musician while maintaining a life-long love for music.
My role as a Senior Examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music allows me to regularly hear and examine music students of different levels across Canada and USA. This gives me a great joy to celebrate the achievements of all the hard working students across the continent. I enjoy mentoring and supporting young teachers who are at the beginning of their careers. In recent years I have been teaching workshops on the Colour Keys piano method that originates in Finland. I will guide the teachers step-by-step on how to use this beginner piano method in their studios.
Aside from teaching, I remain active as a performer. In recent years my solo and collaborative performances have taken me into many cities across Canada and USA. As a native of Finland, I like to promote Scandinavian composers in my repertoire. My debut CD Jean Sibelius - Compositions for Piano was released in 2008. My active collaboration with soprano Cindy Koistinen as Duo Freya produced another recording Diamonds of the North – Songs from Scandinavia in 2010.