I’ve graduated Korea National University of Arts with classical music composition B.A as well as full academic scholarship, graduated New York University of Arts Tisch School of Arts with Broadway musical theatre writing M.F.A with Horace W. Goldsmith Fellowship. Currently member of Dramatist Guild and BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.
I’ve been playing the piano over more than 28 years, and have composed and orchestrated music as well as music directed in both classical music and the musical theatre industry more than 10 years now. Collaborating with various kinds of people who has different backgrounds and different ages gave me great motivation and inspiration. I’m so excited to work with each new student.
For me, a teacher of music, teaching an instrument is like guiding tourists. Good tour guides never pressure their customers to follow what the guide intends to show but introduce various distractions and let them enjoy themselves. And among the various instruments, piano has a wide dynamic range and provides various harmonies, so I believe that piano is the best instrument in terms of this.
Learning an instrument is a collaboration between teacher and student. The teacher’s role is not pressuring the student to practice a technique in order to achieve a goal, but guiding students to understand how the music is affecting them, letting students enjoy the music itself as well as encouraging them to attain the right technique and achieve their own personal goals. As for beginners, I let them feel different tones and hues of the piano keys as well as letting them understand different dynamics. And then I let them read the score as well as understand music theory. For intermediate to high level students, I try to bring each student’s story into the music, allowing them to not focus on technique but tell their story through the piano.
