Yvonne Wu

Teaching Experience and Background

Yale University, Music, B.A., 2003
UC San Diego, Music Composition, M.A., 2011

I have being teaching piano since 2003. My students have ranged in ages from 4 to 75. 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. I have studied piano at Yale University, Aspen Music School, and in private studios in San Diego, New York, and Williamsburg, Virginia. Principal piano teachers have included Christine Williams, Naomi Niskala, Stephen Buck, Anna Grinberg, Cynthia Darby, and Sara Okamoto.

I am currently pursing doctoral studies in music composition at UC San Diego, where, as a Teaching Assistant in music history, I received a TA Excellence Award for Superior Teaching Performance in 2011.

Teaching Philosophies

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.

What Others Have Said

"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