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Teaching Experience |
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I have been teaching piano since 2003 when I completed my B.A. in Music at Yale University. My students have ranged in ages from 4 to 75 with success at all stages. I have taught independently in San Diego, CA and in Brooklyn, NY in addition to teaching at the Family Fine Arts Academy in Chula Vista, CA and with My Music Garden in Jersey City, NJ. In the Fall of 2009, I am beginning graduate studies in music composition at UC San Diego. |
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Teaching Philosophies |
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I believe each individual, young or old, benefits immensely from having an artistic outlet. To learn music specifically is to discover a beautiful intersection of art and discipline, intuition and intellect. In addition to music as something to be performed, we also experience the process of learning it on a multitude of levels (personal, emotional, intellectual, experiential). I work with each student to match the appropriate content and pacing with their individual interests and goals. My goal is to inspire students of any level by pointing out the possibilities for growth and to give them tools for expression. |
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Background |
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In addition to music studies at Yale, I have also studied piano and composition at Aspen Music School. Principal piano teachers have included Christine Williams, Naomi Niskala, Stephen Buck, Anna Grinberg, Cynthia Darby, and Sara Okamoto. My compositions have been performed in the U.S., by ARRAYMUSIC in Canada, by Ensemble SurPlus at Schloss Solitude in Germany, and in my native Taiwan where I was a prize-winner in the 2004 Formosa Composition Competition. I also received the Abraham Beekman Cox Prize as an outstanding composer at Yale. |
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What Others Have Said |
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"Perhaps Yvonne’s most distinguishing aspect as a teacher is her skill at empowering her young students to be fine musicians and committed music-lovers. Upon observing her lessons, one has the clear sense that her students are not just learning how to replicate, but they are actually walking away with some deeper understanding combined with a sense of ownership, confidence and joy. This is a rare and beautiful quality in a teacher, and in my fifteen years of piano teaching, it is a quality I seldom encounter...." -Erasmia Voukelatos, Director of My Music Garden "Yvonne taught our children piano for three years. She is the finest choice one can make for piano instruction. Professional, talented, organized, she has a love for music and, most importantly, her students. A parent could not hope to find better. Our children grew and blossomed as musicians because she is able to teach a musicality that we have found others are unable to do." -Diane, mother of Francesca and Rickey "Yvonne is a phenomenal music instructor. She has the ability to motivate and inspire her students while providing them with a solid understanding of music. She is caring, patient, and organized which are very important qualities when teaching a child with a disability." - Rosemary, mother of Giovanny |