Piano Instructors
AyseDeniz Gokcin is a classical/rock crossover pianist and a neo-romantic composer currently splitting her time between Los Angeles, London, and Istanbul She started playing the piano at age five and was considered a child prodigy. She has performed in over 24 countries as a soloist around the world ranging from classical to rock festivals and concert halls.
AyseDeniz is recognized internationally for her ability to unite the classical genre with classic rock and creating original rock arrangements and compositions, which she now performs for fans worldwide to sold-out shows. She has appeared on BBC&CNN News, Vogue Fashion Magazine, Classic FM, Prog Rock Magazine, and more.
With a Bachelors from Eastman School and a Masters from Royal Academy of Music, she uses her classical education to unite her 500K+ global fans online and in live concerts with a mission to connect people from different backgrounds who share the love of piano.
As of April 2019, AyseDeniz is a Kawai Artist. She joins the ranks of notable artists such as
Yoshiki (X-Japan), Muse, and OneRepublic as part of the Exclusive Kawai Artist Family.
2021 - Interview on BBC Radio 3 with Jess Gillam. Click to listen: BBC Radio 3
2021 - Lufthansa Group and British Airways Flights feature AyseDeniz's "A Chopin Affair" Album on all flights.
2022- 22, Britannica named AyseDeniz one of the top 20 most influential young musicians / artists. The Britannica Encyclopedia is the oldest English encyclopedia in the world.
2022 - A Kawai Artist Piano Academy , Borderless Piano - sLs Japan ( in collaboration with sLs Group )
(Read Her Biography)Ayse Deniz JAPAN official Website
Alejandra Jurado is a professional piano teacher graduated from the University of Cauca, Colombia. She has been awarded the First Prize at the "National Competition for Young Talents 2000" by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Valle, as well as the First Prize at the competition "Sala Beethoven 7.30" in Cali in 2008 and 2009.
With ten years of experience as a piano teacher under her belt, she worked at Cauca University and Nariño University, forming and educating new generations of young pianists. She has been an active performer as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist for other instruments and various musicians. She worked in the Philippines and Japan, and it is because of her deep interest in more disciplines of the human spirit beyond the arts, that she trained and grew in other fields of education, enriching her expertise and making her teaching system more holistic and integrated to the life of her apprentices. "I strongly believe that teaching is like opening a door to a world of discovery where we both learn, hand to hand with the student".
Emi-sensei began playing the piano at the age of 6 and moved to the USA at the age of 19 for language study.
During her studies, she was a member of the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation, an American music foundation, and participated in many concerts at the Tenri Cultural Society in New York, as well as at the International House New York, The Longy School of Music in Boston, Miami Senior High School and Halle in Germany.
She has participated in international music festivals such as the Euromusic Festival Academy and the Miami Music Festival, where she studied with Alexandre Mutuskin, Anton Nail, Daniel Shapiro and Alexei Gorlach.
Since graduating, she has worked as an online piano teacher, teaching students of all ages in English.
Daisy holds a Master of Arts in Music Education from the University of York, UK. She began music lessons at the age of 5 and focused on classical piano by the age of 8. She graduated with High Honors from the Pre-Conservatory Programme at Yayasan Pendidikan Musik (YPM) Music School in Jakarta, Indonesia, earning the 2014 YPM Artist Diploma, the 2014 YPM GOLD Medal of Honor, and the 2014 YPM 3 Unison from the Teacher's Diploma Programme.
With 11 years of teaching experience, Daisy is dedicated to providing enjoyable and high-quality music education. She co-founded Dolcissimo in Indonesia, where she integrates game-based learning to make music lessons engaging for children. Her vision is to create a positive and inspiring environment for her students, fostering a lifelong passion for music.
Daisy has further enriched her expertise by training in the Suzuki Method, Orff Schulwerk, and Kodaly Method during her postgraduate studies. She participated in the Mozarteum International Summer Academy 2023 in Salzburg, Austria, under the guidance of Andreas Frölich and volunteered at the North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre's Grow n Groove program, working with children aged 0-4 and their parents. Additionally, she performed with the University of York Choir, including a notable performance of Edward Elgar's "The Dream of Gerontius" at York Minster. An active church pianist for 12 years, Daisy has played in churches across Indonesia, the UK, and Japan.
Carrissa started learning the piano at the age of 10. She passed her ABRSM Grade 8 Piano with Distinction at the age of 17.
Carrissa is a Music graduate from King’s College London, United Kingdom. Her study in King’s leads to advanced work in History of Western Music, Musicology, Music Performance (Piano), Music Composition and Music Analysis.
Carrissa received her piano training at the Royal Academy of Music, London. She passed her Piano Performance Examination with a First-class result.
Carrissa was selected to participate in various music festivals in the Europe, including the FEST- YN (2017), Spain; the VI & VII International Piano Festival Torre de Canyamel, Spain (2017,2018), which was organized in collaboration with the Royal College of Music (RCM) and the Moscow Conservatory, She has performed alongside with pianists from the UK, Spain, Russia, China, Japan and Korea during the international piano festival. In 2018,
Carrissa has 8 years of teaching experience in Music, specializing in Piano Performance teaching. In her teaching, she focuses on delivering specific performing techniques required for different musical works from each musical period, and helps to solve technical issues in piano playing.
Kate Henry is a classically trained pianist, a licensed professional teacher for K-12 music, a music education researcher and advocate, and an author of an original piano book series. She is currently based in Tokyo, Japan, working as a kindergarten music teacher in an IB international school in the city.
Kate was born and raised in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. She had early exposure to music and started taking piano lessons at age 6. She obtained her degree in Bachelor of Music, Major in Music Education with Piano Principal, at St. Scholastica's College, Manila (with distinction: Cum Laude) in 2015. During her entire college, she was a recipient of the Sr. Baptista Battig Music Foundation Scholarship, granted a full-tuition scholarship for academic and artistic excellence. She moved to Hiroshima, Japan in 2017 to pursue her Master of Music in Music Education degree at Elisabeth University of Music. She was given the Cecilia Award, the highest honor for the top graduate in music education research. She was also a recipient of the Loyola International Exchange fund, offering her a full scholarship for her entire post-graduate studies in recognition of her previous academic and professional achievements.
Kate's advocacy is about spreading the importance of music education by giving free music lessons and concerts to poverty-stricken and less fortunate communities in her country, the Philippines.
Kate is also a music education researcher.
Kate has performed solo piano and as an accompanist for many local artists, chamber groups, and choral groups both in the Philippines and Japan. She has 15 years of experience in teaching piano from kids to adults (beginner to advanced levels), preparing them for exams including applied music and theory for conservatory auditions. She has taught in many prominent music studios in the Philippines. She eventually opened her own music school in Makati City in 2015, and it is still thriving since then.
Japanese-American pianist Yurie Farnsworth has established herself as an emerging young artist across Oregon, Texas and Japan.
In 2008, Yurie won the 2nd place title at the National level of the MTNA Piano Competition. As a Junior at the Shepherd School of Music, Yurie became the first undergraduate student to win the school’s piano concerto competition in many years, and was subsequently presented as a soloist with the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra in 2015. . In 2019, Yurie won 3rd prize at the Aoniyoshi Music Competition in Nara, Japan. In 2021, Yurie won the Grand Rachmaninoff Prize, as well as the overall 2nd prize at the 3rd International Rachmaninoff Piano Competition. In 2024, Yurie presented her doctorate thesis, “The art of intoning music: an alternative approach to analysis and interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s piano music through Boris Asafiev’s theory of intonation”, alongside a final exam performance consisting of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto and second piano sonata, the latter of which was arranged by Yurie as a mix of both the 1913 and 1931 versions.
Yurie has also performed in various venues across Japan and in Tokyo, including the salon concert halls at the Ginza Yamaha and Omotesando Kawai buildings, as well as with orchestra at the Sumida Triphony Hall. .
CuiLin is from China. She started to learn piano at the age of 6 and later on she learned how to play the electronic organ. Exceptional skills in both Piano and Organ. She graduated from the Music Education Department of Xi'an Conservatory of Music. She used to be an intern music instructor. She has taught general music and piano at primary schools.
Besides, she also taught piano (private lessons) in China
(from Grade 1 to higher diploma level in English, Japanese or Chinese)
Therefore, she has gained professional experience in music education especially in piano teaching for young learners.
She speaks 3 languages: Chinese, English and Japanese.
( Jennifer ) My family is from Taiwan and Indonesia. I started to learn piano at the age of 5 and violin at age of 12 and qualified for the Taiwanese Music school for the Gifted and Talented. I studied in Singapore for high school and completed my bachelor’s degree of comparative cultures in Sophia University in Tokyo. I passed grade 8 with distinction of ABRSM piano performance in age of 16 and the ABRSM Diploma in piano teaching. I have taught in international school in Tokyo for Secondary music curriculum and was a piano instructor for young learners.
In recent years, I am dedicated in volunteering music performance in senior’s homes or charity events. Learning instruments is not just about learning techniques, but expressing oneself and hopefully sharing joy to others.
Fluent in Taiwanese, Chinese mandarin, English and Japanese.
Maiko started piano at age 5 in New York. She earned bachelor and master degree at Manhattan School of Music, studied solo piano with Andre Michel Schub and accompaniment with John Forconi.
She also studied with Golda Tatz, Krzysztof Jablonski at Kirishima International Music Festival, Andrea Lucchesini at International Summer Academy Mozarteum.
Maiko started her career as a piano teacher in 2018. She’s been teaching various students from beginner to advanced.