Testimonials

“After eight years of studying with Cheryl, it is hard to know where to begin. How do I summarize an eight year experience that took me from piano beginner to ARCT graduate? Though my mother inspired me to start playing piano, Cheryl gave me the tools and the confidence to come back to it week after week, even when the pieces got harder and the hours of practice grew dauntingly longer. Throughout my eight years with her, Cheryl provided just the right balance of affirmation and constructive criticism that encouraged me, yet challenged me to constantly improve. I can’t imagine another teacher with whom I could have progressed so far technically and artistically, and who still could have ignited the passion for music and teaching within me as Cheryl Finn did. It was an amazing eight years!”

— Erin Andres / ARCT graduate

”Wow! A wonderful year with Teacher Tatiana! We are very lucky to have found Tatiana to teach our daughter Michaela and son Kyle piano (Thanks Cheryl for your strong recommendation). We were first impressed by her diversified music academic background as well as her elegant appearance. Later on we discovered that Tatiana’s perseverance, patience and professionalism are some of the admirable attributes we have been blessed with. She works hard on correcting my kids’ mistakes and on improving playing technique (paying a lot of attention to hand position and movement etc.), and at the same time she emphasizes the development of their musicality and expression. She often plays for them to provide an example, and to inspire musicality and love of music. Her teaching is very detailed and hence helps them achieve the best results from it. Within a year under Tatiana’s instruction, Kyle has shown vast improvements especially in musical expression and piano technique. Thanks for correcting some of his bad piano habits. Michaela has really enjoyed her time with Tatiana, we appreciate her efforts for helping to make Michaela’s first year of piano lessons such a positive experience. Admittedly, we feel that our kids are not the most musically –talented children around. However, under Tatiana’s teaching, we believe that success is not unattainable. We are certainly looking forward to more lessons with Teacher Tatiana. Many Thanks Tatiana!”

— Leslie Zhao/Mom of Michaela and Kyle

“Our son Sergey has been taking piano lessons with Tatiana Khvatova since September of 2009. Tatiana’s patience and professionalism helped to nurture in our 8 year old restless boy the ability to concentrate and to express different emotions through music even at the very introductory level. Her focus on proper technique and sound quality produced great results in a very short period of time. In addition, Tatiana is just a pleasant person to deal with.”

—Liza/Parent

”Five years ago Cheryl Finn became my piano teacher, and it was the best thing that could have happened to my musical career. Cheryl meticulously prepares us for our Royal Conservatory examinations by setting individual weekly goals we are expected to meet. She is devoted to ensuring the success of her students. For me, being Cheryl’s student has been a privilege- with her guidance I have surpassed my own personal expectations and have accomplished things I once would not have thought possible.”

—Elisabeth Piccolo / Grade 10 Student

“Jacky Mak has been very supportive and understanding towards my children’s needs and struggles with playing the piano. He always finds new ways to motivate and encourage them. He is very informative. He always gives a briefing after each lesson on their progress and gives suggestions on how we can improve and work together to help my kids. My children are very comfortable with his style and requirements.

I enjoy seeing how my children enjoy playing the piano and see the potential they have under Jacky’s guidance and teaching.”

— Soo / Parent

”Saya has been our piano teacher for our 3 boys (James, Alex, Marcus) for almost 5 years, within those years she also taught me for 2 years. I can say first hand that she is an exceptional teacher. Saya has a thorough knowledge of the Royal Conservatory music curriculum and has taught each of us with efficiency including 2 years of theory with our oldest son James. She has also adapted her teaching to meet the needs of each person based on their learning needs and the grade they are studying. I would like to especially point out that she has a gift in recognizing when one of us has a difficulty in a particular piece or portion of a piece and will teach a new technique to overcome the stumbling block. She is also consistent in her teaching methods both in her verbal instruction and in the written notes that we use to practice between lessons. As parents we can also say that she is honest and thorough in her evaluation at the end of each lesson, updating us on what each boy needs to work on and praise for a job well done. We have all grown to love Saya very much and from the beginning she has treated the boys with full respect and dignity which has also taught them the value of this kind of healthy relationship. As a family we can all say that Saya is a great teacher and recommend her if she is taking on more students or if we are approached by people needing a piano teacher.”

— Vic & Belinda Rempel

“Sophia Tan has been providing piano lessons each week to my 7 year old daughter Emily. Sophia has shown amazing technical and fundamental skills in the development of Emily’s knowledge and confidence in her playing the piano. I find Sophia to be calm and maintain a high level of professionalism when instructing Emily. Sophia’s style of teaching has molded Emily each and every week in her willingness to practice and learn. I would highly recommend her to my friends and family.”

— Gordon Kwan

“My daughter, Rachel has been studiying piano with Sophia Tan in the RCM program for the past four years. Rachel always enjoys going to her lessons and has progressed very well. Under the guidance of Mrs. Tan, RAchel received First Class Honours in her recent piano exam.

Mrs. Tan is extrememely organized and always punctual with her lessons. She connects very well with all age groups and brings enormous amounts of energy and patience to each lesson. She gives constructive criticism but also offers lots of encouragement to bring out the best in her students. We have been very lucky to have Sophia Tan as our teacher.”

— Susan Kong