Inna Hampton

Piano

Inna’s approach to teaching her piano students lies in understanding the whole child – beyond their musical gifts.

“I like to talk to students, and I like when they tell me something about themselves, because I always observe and understand what they can and what they cannot do because everyone is different,” Inna said.

“To me it’s very important to understand them so I can keep them interested in music. Based on what I learn about them I can customize their lessons, to help them learn better and keep them happy. Because when they smile, when they relax they learn faster and it helps them enjoy piano better.”

Inna feels this approach, where the student opens their personality, “is important for both learning music and enjoying it.”

Ronit Davny

Piano

Ronit’s infectious joy for teaching piano is more than just surface enthusiasm – she’s playing the long game.

“To learn a skill that as an adult you can hang out with friends and you can walk over to the piano and open it and play some of these fun songs that we learn, that’s such an amazing gift,” Ronit said. “I want these kids, when they are 60 years old, to smile when thinking about their piano lessons – and me!”

Ronit takes her responsibility with her charges seriously – “It’s an honor to teach these kids, the parents give us these kids, the most precious things in their lives and they trust us, so it’s an honor to be with them and to teach them something.”

She says her joy and sense of purpose boils down to one belief, “I just think that every child can learn to play the piano.”

Celeste Amador

Piano

It was during her student days that Celeste observed the power of a brilliant teacher.

“My piano teacher, who was the best at the university, he would work with students with whatever they had, and one of them switched to my professor and after one semester he was a completely different performer.”

Celeste explored her own teaching gifts in school and developed her own “philosophy about teaching that if a student can’t do something, 90% of the time it is not the student’s fault – the teacher has to find a way to teach the student how to do whatever they are struggling with.”

This informs her approach to this day, which she has brought to Old Town Music School: “I always try to figure out a way to help the students by meeting them where they are and figure out how they learn and, in a sense, how they think when they are playing so I can be better guiding them where they want to go.”

Mark Moorman

Piano

Mark’s piano career started on the windowsill of his childhood home where, “I was playing the piano, an imaginary piano, before I could speak.”

He graduated to the family’s actual piano “and I was making up music by myself, improvising for hours,” Mark said.

It was after he finally began taking piano lessons at the advanced age of 7 when his career opened up. “It was the highlight of my life. It was all I ever wanted to do; I loved my first teacher. It was the only place where I felt I could be myself; it was my safe place.”

Those early experiences shaped the musician and educator Mark is today. “There are as many ways to play music as there are people and it is fascinating to experience how someone else connects with music. I am always looking for how does this unique person connect to music?”

He remains connected to the lessons taught by his first teacher. “She emphasized expression, that music was a language, and you told stories with it and the other side was that she was very good at music theory, so she taught us the science of music. I try to combine both because you have to have them and I try to make sure they have a ramp to play the music they want to play.”

Kabanya Vinson

Piano

For Kabanya teaching piano to today’s young students is like stepping into a time machine.

“I am a mother of four adult children, and I remember the days when they were little and they were my favorite days,” Kabanya said. “To still have an opportunity to positively impact children at a young age is a gift because the desire to do that stems from my love of children.”

Kabanya says the joy of seeing her student grow and develop makes these some of her favorite times as well. “To teach these children piano, to see the lightbulb moment and to see how it brings them joy is why I love teaching piano.”

Rachelle Aderoju

Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Guitar and Ukulele

Rachelle sees teaching piano as a means to unlocking the power of her students’ brains. “Music is like a puzzle,” Rachelle said. “I like working with students to get them to help figure out the puzzle”

She knows students come without the knowledge to play and enjoys teaching them the correct way to practice their pieces “I think it helps them learn more efficiently and it helps them understand their pieces, which then helps them get to the reward center in their brains especially for the young ones.”

Rachelle says opening that conduit is the key to helping a student get excited about music –  “when they can access that reward center that makes performances more rewarding and lessons more fun!”