Our Story
As pianists, we’re always running from performance to rehearsal to lessons to practise and back again. All of that makes it easy for us to slip into “deadline mode”, learning our music in a hurry on autopilot. We don’t have time to think about whether or not we’re pushing ourselves beyond our limits. But, the plot twist is there is time to make time.
My past self had no idea.
Developing tendinitis in college made me realise something had to change. I couldn’t keep playing the piano in the way that I was, and I realised I loved the instrument way too much to give up and stop there. At that moment, as I held an ice pack to my burning forearm, unable to even hold a pencil, I realised I had to make a very important transformative leap.
And Leap I Did.
My solution came from a combination of places - my professor, Steinway Artist Dr. Oscar Macchioni, my physical therapist, friends and colleagues from the classical guitar world, and yogis. My tendinitis wasn’t resolved instantly - that was the first lesson.
Patience will get you farther than instant gratification.
Healing and relearning the instrument required slow, patient commitment and a whole lot of trust in the process. Even when things seemed impossible.
There’s Time To Make Time
Growth didn’t happen overnight. Through a breakthrough guided by wonderful mentors, I realised just how interconnected everything was. Notes in a piece of music were no longer simply ink on a page but instead a roadmap for the body: when to breathe, how to shape the hand, even what emotions ripple through the sonic undercurrent.
Musical Tapestry
I began to understand that to be a pianist, to be a musician, is a deeply integrated act, weaving itself through every facet of life, even when not in the practise room or on the performance stage.
As a teacher, I focus on bridging the mind-body-music connection because it’s so important to me to pass on these lessons learnt to my students. I’m passionate about sharing my message because I believe that everyone is able to discover their authentic musical voice, regardless of their age or skill level.
In the whirlwind of jam-packed day-to-day to-do, making music is more important than ever. Take the time to sit at the piano, to be still and breathe, to pause and know there’s time to make time - all that brings us out of the external noise and into the internal peace of creativity.
We know the deadline isn’t the journey, the music is the journey.
