“Hillary is patient and will move at whatever speed you are comfortable with. She has a fantastic personality and is passionate about teaching. I absolutely love taking lessons with Hillary... even under quarantine, the virtual lessons have been great and I'm learning a skill that I've wanted to learn my entire life.”

-James E., private piano student

“My 11 year old daughter had been having private piano lessons but had stalled in her learning. Getting her to practice was difficult and she was unwilling to try any new songs. Things were looking tough. Then we came to Hillary, and she fit her to a tee. Hillary has proven to be a big hit with my daughter. She is really enjoying the lessons and it is hard now to get her to stop playing or just for fun. It has proved to be just the right amount of challenge and has helped her to enjoy playing again. She has now raced through level eight, and is taking ABRSM examination courses!”

-Abby A., mother of private piano student

“Hillary is well versed academically and truly an experienced teacher. Not only does she assess your ability and requirements as a student, she learnedly sets forth lesson assignments and objectives.”

-Lori N., private piano student

“I took lessons with Hillary online for about 4 months and I never anticipated that I would make anywhere near the progress that I did. I owe so much of that to her teaching style, extensive knowledge, and the attention to detail given to each piece that can so easily be glossed over when teaching beginner students “simple” music. She honestly made every piece interesting and brought out depth and layers in the smallest piece. Although a good amount of the content was familiar to me from my previous instruction, I was shown a depth to aspects of music that I never considered before.”

-Matthew C., private piano student

"As someone who has taken piano for years in the past, Hillary is the best piano teacher I have ever had. She personalizes her teaching based on how I progress each week. Sometimes she teaches music theory, assigns pieces of different composers, and this challenges me intellectually and brings out my potential I never knew I was capable of. She focuses on techniques and the musicality of the pieces. The well-balanced lessons were always so enjoyable. She is an empathetic person and also a fantastic teacher and human being."

-Iman A., University of Michigan piano student

Welcome to my studio page!

Hello!

I am a professional musician and a candidate of the Doctoral of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Michigan. I have taught piano for over 12 years, with experience ranging from instructing college music courses to working privately with students of different ages, levels, learning disabilities, and backgrounds.

I provide students with practice strategies and problem-solving skills during the lesson, so they can experience progress and enjoyment from mastering challenges. I want students to leave the lesson thinking: "I can do it!" I am always communicating and setting individual goals and expectations. I promote proper technique to support healthy practice and greater expressive ability. All the while, I strive to develop a student's critical listening skills and self-awareness. I aim to introduce students to a variety of the best piano literature so they can discover the excitement, beauty and enjoyment of playing music. My ultimate goal is to peak my students' curiosities and their desires to learn with each new piece we study. In short, I want my students to fall in love with the learning process, through music.

Lessons take place either remotely via Zoom or Google Meet. I also teach music theory. I currently teach full-time with a studio of adult beginners, intermediates, young beginners, and pre-college students. Let's discuss what would be the best lesson length option for you/your child. I offer student recitals for all ages every month, and examinations with ABRSM and RCM. I have prepared my students for CM, RCM, ABRSM exams, high school auditions, pre-college programs, and college auditions (to major in music). Tell me what your interests are, and together we will craft a progression that will take you to your goals. If you are a beginner and/or don't know how to read sheet music, I can definitely help you! If you already know how to play piano and would like to develop yourself further, I can definitely help you as well.. Ready to learn how to play the piano? Contact me and let’s start!

Please feel free to send me a message with any questions you might have. I am genuinely passionate about teaching music and sincerely care about each of my students and their well-being in addition to their musical progress. And if you are a part of my studio, you will find that I am very responsive and willing to help however I can. I look forward to helping you achieve your goals. Thank you for reading. Happy music making!