Hi I'm Ian, my piano lessons focus on developing creative musicianship—not just performance skills.
Lessons are student-centered and personalized, rooted in my knowledge and love of creating and playing music, and encourage life-long music making.
As a musician and teacher, I’m serious about helping my students along their musical path, but I also know that sometimes the best way to do that is by being a little goofy - lessons should be fun, because music is fun!
What People Say?
Ian is a very talented teacher, great with kids, and his expertise and interest in my son’s progress has been invaluable. He will not only help you to become a good pianist but also a well-rounded musician. The lessons have been customized to my son’s interests and abilities, but are also challenging. We couldn’t ask for a better teacher!
Carmen parent of Matthew and Emma
Ian is unfailingly patient with our kid. He is an expert at redirecting a distracted kid back to the piano, and he does it with humour and respect, and is great at showing support for her progress. We’ve recommended him to friends, and we’re recommending him to you.
Danny parent of Libby
Ian is an amazing piano teacher. He’s great at building lessons around students musical interests while seamlessly integrating theory and technique into any musical piece kids are learning. Ian is particularly great with neurodivergent kids, and adapting when kids are having a bit of an off day. He integrates fun into learning the piano and is always praising skills development, pointing out how much a student has grown. My kid has been a student of Ian’s for 3 years, all virtual, and we hope to continue with him for years to come. Highly recommend.
Alana parent of Julian
I would highly recommend Ian as a piano teacher. My son was a somewhat reluctant piano student and Ian’s patience, encouragement, and creativity instilled confidence, maintained interest, and inspired a love of music. In addition to being a gifted teacher, Ian is a brilliant pianist and composer. He is everything one would look for in a piano teacher.
Terri parent of Jake
After their first lesson: Tonight we had to say, “stop playing the piano and go to bed!” A happy parenting moment!
I really appreciate the approach and like the books you have given them. I love seeing creativity at the forefront and embedded in that, clear building blocks leading towards reading music.
Carmen parent of Matthew and Emma
Ian is an extremely knowledgeable teacher and has created a customized lesson plan for me that is engaging and challenging. I would highly recommend him as a teacher for students of any age!
David
Ian is very encouraging and understanding with a sound theoretical knowledge and excellent performance skills.
Farah
Ian’s natural instinct is to unlock and reward students’ creativity.
Eric
Ian’s approach to teaching piano is unique, creative, and tailored to the individual student.
Our children have become conversant in ‘the language of music’ since starting their lessons less than a year ago; they enjoy sitting down to the piano to play and have each worked on some of their own compositions with Ian’s guidance.
We really appreciate Ian’s work with our children.
Andy parent of Agnes and William
Carly
Alma
About Me
About Me
I am an experienced music educator, pianist, composer, improvisor, and conductor.
I am passionate about teaching music holistically, nurturing my students’ creativity, and encouraging their musical interests.
I hold a Master of Music in choral conducting from the University of Manitoba, I spent two summers studying composition, counterpoint, and partimenti at La Schola Cantorum with the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, France. I hold a Bachelor of Music in piano and music theory from the University of Manitoba.
What are you looking for?
Beginner Lessons for Kids
Beginner Lessons for Kids
Starting piano lessons is so exciting! As a teacher, it’s so much fun to help my students take their first steps into the magical world of music.
From their first lesson, I teach my students to be creative and express themselves through music. I explain musical concepts in age appropriate ways, nurture my students’ unique creativity, and help them develop as a musician so they can enjoy making music throughout their life.
I take my direction from my students. What get’s them excited? What sparks their interest? What are they enthusiastic about?
Together we will work at developing a healthy technique, ears for listening and understanding music and musical intelligence by composing and improvising. All while having fun and making awesome music!
For kids just starting at the piano and kids who are developing core skills, we will use my own method Nurturing Creativity at the Piano.
Nurturing Creativity gives kids a well rounded skill set to explore music independently and will provide the foundational tools for whatever musical path(s) they choose to explore. Here are some of the skills they will:
- Learn to read music, play and perform reperetoire
- Learn to improvise, and create music spontaneously
- Learn to compose, write music, and perform their own songs
What about music theory?
- Music theory concepts are woven into composing and improvising
- We will take apart each song we play to see how it works
- By using music theory students will be able to spot it, hear it, play it, improvise it, and ‘use it in a sentence’
At the end of every year, students will take part in a collaborative composition project.
- Students will compose two pieces in the winter/spring that will demonstrate their understanding of what they have learned in the previous year.
- Students will perform one of their own songs
- Their second song will be distributed among my other students of similar level and they will receive someone else’s song
- Songs will be prepared and recorded in their lessons
- I will assemble a video of everyone’s performances and distribute the videos on YouTube.
This sounds great! Please contact me later.
No pressure, I will email you about twice a year to see if the time is right for lessons.
Nurturing
Creativity is my method for kids to learn to express themselves through
composing, improvising and playing repertoire at the piano. and understand
music through analysis and solfège.
My students
learn to be creative and tell stories through their music.
Beginner Lessons for Teens + Adults
No matter your age, learning to play the piano can be a great adventure, an awesome hobby, and so much fun!
With your input I will customize your lessons to your interests and help you build your skills at the keyboard and your musicianship to achieve whatever goals you’ve set for yourself
If you want to play classical repertoire or popular song, just be able to sit down and improvise or compose your own music, or learn to play by ear: now is the time to start an amazing and fulfilling journey of learning to play the piano and making music.
Intermediate + Advanced Lessons
You have learned the basics, you can read music and learn repertoire, congrats! That’s huge!
But you feel like you are missing pieces deepen your musical abilities. Or you want to write your own songs, learn to improvise, learn songs by ear, and learn more complex repertoire.
Almost every composer and song writer has a wide variety of musical skills. Why shouldn’t you explore music the way they did?
Intermediate + Advanced Lessons
Partimento + Piano Lessons
Partimento + Piano Lessons
What is Partimento?
/ par ti ˈmɛn toʊ /
Partimento was one of the most powerful and common musical
teaching methods in the western tradition of the 17th through 19th centuries.
Partimenti
are two things:
1. an oral tradition and method of learning composition and
improvisation at the keyboard,
2. instructional bass lines designed to teach harmony and counterpoint.
A Little History
Partimenti – both the basses and the oral tradition – were developed and refined in Italy, particularly Naples. Orphans living in conservatories in Naples were taught music as a trade so they could earn a living.
The methods in these conservatories were so successful at teaching the average child composition, improvisation, performance, and analysis, that musicians trained in Naples started to flood the churches and courts of Europe. After the French Revolution, the Paris Conservatory was established and they imported Italian music teachers. Soon partimenti gained traction as a teaching method in Paris and in the conservatories around France. In Germany, musicians studied either with a student of the partimenti school or traveled to Italy themselves.
About the Partimeni Method
The extant manuscripts of partimenti are full of bass lines and very few words. These bass lines are full of musical implications. In learning partimenti the student learns to decipher the implications of the bass line attaching different rules, such as cadences, the rule of the octave, sequences and other harmonic and contrapuntal moves to create a new improvisation or composition. Through deep study of all the rules, students learn to understand the music they are playing and are able to compose and improvise new music.
What's Involved In Partimenti + Piano Lessons?
Learn Partimento Today
Partimenti are still one of the most effective tools for learning music at the keyboard. Partimento were designed to teach everyone to compose, improvise, play and understand music – not just the most naturally talented. It worked for some of the greatest composers, and it can work for you too!
