Dear Friends, Quick note before we start: we still have spaces available at Butler Piano Camp this June 15-19. It's on Butler's campus here in Indianapolis for piano students entering grades 7 through 12. It will be a week of lessons, practice, seminars, alongside other serious young pianists. If you know a young pianist who might be interested, please spread the word: we'd love to work with them! [Details and registration here.] Now, on to today’s topic: the difference between hearing and...
10 days ago • 5 min read
Dear Friends, Quick note before we get started: next Sunday, April 26th, I'll be performing Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's Das Jahr on the Pleyel Series at the Scarab Club in Detroit. If you're in the area, I would love to see you there! [Ticket information here.] Anyway, today I have a bit of news to share: next year, during the full 2026-27 academic year, I'll be taking a sabbatical from Butler University. As this academic year winds down (we have just 1 week of classes left), I find myself...
24 days ago • 5 min read
Dear Friends, We’re in the final couple of weeks of the semester, which means it’s recital season! Last week I drove to Cincinnati for Briana’s senior recital (I’m her instructor of record, remotely), and then yesterday was Cora’s senior recital. Today is the studio recital where all of my students will play, and then next week will be Bella’s senior recital. And then two weeks from today, I’ll be performing Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Das Jahr in Detroit at the Scarab Club, on a historic...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Quick Note: I'll be performing Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's masterpiece "Das Jahr" for solo piano at the Scarab Club in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday, April 26, at 3:00 pm. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there! [Click here for more information.] Dear Friends, I just got back from the MTNA National Conference in Chicago. It's always so inspiring to attend: I heard many interesting sessions, met many new people, and saw many people who are dear to me, including a whole group of my...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Dear Friends, Before we get started: a lot of you have told me that one of your biggest struggles is practicing consistently: not just knowing what to practice, but actually showing up and doing it regularly. I'm working on a video about this and I want to make sure it speaks to what you're actually dealing with. I put together a quick 2-question survey. It's anonymous, takes about 2 minutes, and your answers will directly shape the video. You can fill it out here. Anyway, today I want to...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Dear Friends, For those of you in the Louisville, KY, area, I'll be performing Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel's Das Jahr at the Amy Cralle Theater, Wilson W. Wyatt Center for the Arts, Bellarmine University on Thursday, March 12 at 7:00 pm. It's free and open to the public, and I would love to see you there! Today while I was practicing, I noticed that my jaw was clenched and I was holding tension in my left shoulder. And so I decided to write about something that I work on with my students almost...
2 months ago • 5 min read
Dear Friends, A few months ago I set up a survey to start collecting responses from my viewers and readers. So far I have received more than 2,100 responses to the survey. If you haven’t taken it yet and you’d like to, here’s the link. It has been really interesting to read your stories and learn more about you, and I'm truly grateful for all that you have shared with me. One pattern I've noticed is that hundreds of you articulate a version of the same frustration: feeling discouraged about...
2 months ago • 8 min read
Dear Friends, This past Friday, I returned from four days in central Pennsylvania. While I was there, I played two recitals, taught masterclasses and workshops, and had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people. When you’re a professional musician, performances create natural deadlines. You have a date on the calendar, and that date forces you to get a piece ready and then move on to the next thing. My calendar is full of these dates, and they are what keep me practicing and learning new...
3 months ago • 5 min read
Dear Friends, Quick note: I’ll be traveling to central PA this week, playing a recital at Susquehanna University on Tuesday evening at 7:30, and at Gettysburg College on Thursday evening at 6:30. Both concerts are free. If you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there and meet you afterwards! Speaking of preparing for recitals, I sometimes tell my university students that they will never have more time to practice than they do right now. They might feel very busy, and they are busy, but I try...
3 months ago • 5 min read