Teaching Artists
Our teaching artists are alumni and faculty from the top conservatories and music institutions in the world, possessing incomparable experience in both stage performance and music education.
Piano Teaching Artists
Dr. Mark De Zwaan
DM, Jacobs School of Music
at Indiana University
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Dr. Li-Wen Weng
DMA,University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Patrick Kreeger
DMA, The Juilliard School
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Deiran Manning
MM, Jacobs School of Music
at Indiana University
Jiayan Sun
DMA, The Juilliard School
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Jarred Dunn
PgD, K. Szymanowski Academy
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Daniel Rudin
BA, Yale University
Dr. Chia-Ying Chan
DMA, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
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Ruiqi Fang
DMA, Manhattan School of Music
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Dr. Sun Min Kim
DMA, Eastman School of Music
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Meng Yang
MM, New York University
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Benjamin Goodman
PDPL, Mannes School of Music -
The New School
Dr. Chen Wang
DMA, Michigan State University
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Kelly Vargas
BA, Berklee College of MUSIC
Dr. Ji Hyun Kim
DM, Jacobs School of Music
at Indiana University
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Bryan Percoco
MM, University of Cincinnati
College-Conservatory of Music
Kristhyan Benitez
MM, Boston Conservatory
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Dr. Konstantine Valianatos
DMA, The Juilliard School
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Qilin Sun
MM, The Juilliard School
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Monica Meng-Chieh Lu
MM, Mannes School of Music -
The New School
To study the piano is to study yourself. It is a combination of how you listen, how you move, how you think, and how you feel - all applied as one. To learn the piano is to learn patience; to ask ourselves the right questions in the name of progress.
My central goal as an educator is to tailor my teaching to students' individual goals and needs. Within this, I consistently encourage my students to express and communicate their ideas, to create their music with imagination, and to develop their own voice. I approach my work with students with a committed, patient and positive attitude to help them reach their individual goals.
WEmusic makes it possible to connect with the best musicians and teachers throughout the world. With its advanced technology and structured curriculum, the teachers and the students can experience an entirely new way of learning.
My goal is to help my students achieve their artistic excellence in piano playing. During the lesson, I will work on finger exercise, ear training, theory and musicality to help my students understand music with different aspects.
I strive to create a supportive learning environment for piano students to cultivate their technical and musical abilities. My goal in teaching piano lessons is for each student to become independently capable of exploring and expressing their enjoyment of music through synthesizing musical instinct, history, and theory within the context of healthy technical movement.
Kristhyan Benitez
More often than not, the joy of making music is shrouded behind technical deficiencies and bad habits. In my studio, I remain conscious of each student's uniqueness while trying to lay a strong technical and aural foundation. As a teacher, I hope to strengthen the often frayed link between surface level technicalities and the deeper emotional/spiritual components in music.
Music is above all the pursuit of one’s ideal performance. In order to move closer to this we must train our ear with proper hearing and train our mind with knowledge. Nothing is worse than a musician who knows nothing of the music they play.
Piano teacher is not only offering professional advice, but also emotional support as a “life companion”. I believe that one of the goals for teaching is to transform those good qualities formed throughout the piano study, like self-discipline, creative thinking, and concentration, etc, into our daily life.
Music is the aural manifestation of the soul, a centrifugal force that echoes within us all. By seeking perfection in music, we eventually learn to perceive and react to the world around us with a healthy, altruistic disposition. Our journey together will unravel the mysteries of classical music and piano- playing with the hope that one day, you will be able to enrich people's lives through your art.
Jiayan Sun
To learn piano is to learn about life. It is to develop one's skills and capabilities to the highest possible level at any given moment. The search for becoming a musician and a pianist is the search for being a better human-being. Essentially it is the analysis of human emotion and the study of aesthetics combined at the highest level.
Qilin Sun
I teach through historical, harmonic, creative, and technical inquiry, aiming to inspire intellectual curiosity and musical growth in my students. I tailor my approach to the student’s personality and articulate the most efficient path to achieving their goals. The development of artistic independence and self-aware listening are cornerstones of a developing musician.
I teach to develop musicianship but also to help establish balanced minds in my students. I instruct my students so that they build discipline and persistence, and create good music along the way. I hope you will leave my classes inspired and with an appreciation for music that will bring a lifetime's worth of joy!
My teaching goal is to lead students to enjoy the beauty of music. By teaching students how to coordinate their body movements for better expression, and conduct their performance and non-performance activities, students will learn to solve their specific technical problems and effectively improve their practice efficiency.
My goal is to orient students towards loving and trusting the process of learning. Learning music at any level should be about challenging oneself to find honest, personal, and unique forms of expression. My job as teacher is to guide and empower the student in this spiritually nurturing and gratifying journey.
I believe that learning music is not only the ability to play one or multiple instruments but also establishing a rounded knowledge of many other musical concepts such as musicology, including diverse genre and musical style, music theory and music history.
Violin Teaching Artists
My teaching goal is to lead students to enjoy the beauty of music. By teaching students how to coordinate their body movements for better expression, and conduct their performance and non-performance activities, students will learn to solve their specific technical problems and effectively improve their practice efficiency.
Fan Zhang
MM, DePaul University School of Music
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Lydia Sewell
MM, Duquesne University
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Kevin Zheng
MM, Yale University
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Arianne Urban
MM, DePaul University
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Dr. Tammy Chang
DMA, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
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Megan Kingon
MM, Royal Northern College of Music
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Dr. Seohee Min
DMA, City University of New York
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Johnna Wu
DMA Candidate, CUNY
MM, The Juilliard School
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Dr. Timothy D. Jones
D. Mus, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre RS, Brazil
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Caitlin Smith
MM, Royal Academy of Music, London, UK
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Johnna Wu
My lessons are conducted in a friendly and non-stressful environment. I aim to give my students a solid foundation of technique for expressing themselves musically and to treat each student as a unique individual. Each student is taught in a way that is based on their personality and the willingness to study.
Performing and sharing music with an audience is always a pleasure, but being able to teach and watch students grow, brings me even more joy. I strive to get to know each student as individuals-to discover what makes them unique while understanding and supporting their goals.
I believe every student is capable of excelling artistically, technically and musically if they possess curiosity and discipline. My goal as a teacher is to foster this curiosity and discipline through making the student become aware of their mind, body, and sound. Once a student can be aware of these interdependent elements, they start on the path to becoming their own teacher!
I always tailor my teaching to the individual student and I am passionate about helping everyone reach their full potential. I teach with enthusiasm and encouragement to help develop each student into a complete musician.
Timothy D. Jones
It’s incredibly important as a teacher to create a comfortable, engaging, and supportive atmosphere, as I believe that is where learning happens at its best. Furthermore, I strive to equip my students with all the tools and musical understanding they need to form their own interpretations and deliver compelling performances.
Seohee Min
Music is a universal language, and I teach the violin through demonstrations and sequence-based learning with clarity, kindness, and joy. I maintain high standards of technique and musicality while emphasizing consistency, perseverance, and tone. I am originally Suzuki-trained, so I truly believe that everyone can learn to play an instrument beautifully.
Arianne Urban
Cello Teaching Artists
Julian Langford
DMA, Stony Brook University
MM, The Juilliard School
Voice Teaching Artists
Tanya Makswood
MM, University of California
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Julia Geisler
MM, University of Kansas
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Ashley Jackson
MM, University of Kentucky Lexington
Angela Mannino
MM, Indiana University
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Blake Brauer
BFA, Music Theatre,
Illinois Wesleyan University
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Kelly Vargas
BA, Berklee College of MUSIC
Margaret Izard
MM, Roosevelt University
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Kyla Gabka
BA Music & BA Musical Theatre, Columbia College Chicago
Real knowledge lasts a lifetime and changes you. Technique is empowering and the anchor that will help you trust yourself. My purpose is to help guide you in combining technique with your individual artistic needs to create the singer you envision yourself to be.
Our singing voice is the instrument we were each born to play. My goal is to make singing effortless and enjoyable and to help my students build confidence in themselves by developing their instrument. Together we will work on breathing, speaking and vocal exercises, as well as appropriate repertoire, singing with beautiful Italian vowels, free of tension and with emotional purpose.
Julia Geisler
Music Theatre is unique in that there is not one "perfect" sound that encapsulates the entire genre. I offer tools and exercises that will enable you to uncover and develop the strengths already present in your voice.
Angela Mannino
Music is about discovery and expression. My goal is to help you discover your own voice so you can express yourself through singing. Together we will learn technique, exercises, and your favorite songs that will guide you in the direction of expressing your own self.
“As a teacher, it is my job to listen, connect and adapt in order to cultivate the most creative and artistic experience for a child. WeMusic gives me that platform to create such opportunities for students wherever they may be.”
Oboe Teaching Artists
Jelena Soro
MM, Berklee College of Music
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I offer students help to find their inner motivation and joy in practicing and playing music and I present them the tools to develop high level technical skills on their instrument. I believe that this combination is the key for students to become independent and capable of preparing on their own for any future musical challenge.
Composition Teaching Artists
Alex Burtzos
DMA, Manhattan School of Music
Blake Brauer
BFA, Music Theatre,
Illinois Wesleyan University
Kelly Vargas
BFA, Berklee College of MUSIC