HELLO
My name is Julie Wang and I am a piano teacher currently living and teaching from my home studio in Palo Alto, California. I earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with a Minor in K-12 Educational Studies at the University of California, Irvine and a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As an undergraduate student at UC Irvine, I kept a full teaching load at home and tutored music students at Orange Coast College. My experience substituting for a teacher at Irvine Valley College in 2009 led me to discover my passion for teaching adult students as well as teaching group piano lessons.
At the University of Illinois, I was granted full academic scholarship and two teaching assistantships where I had the privilege to teach undergraduate non-major applied piano lessons, as well as pre-collegiate piano lessons through the Preparatory Laboratory Program. As part of my graduate pedagogy studies, I researched on the Detection, Prevention and Rehabilitation of Performance-Related Injuries from the Pedagogical Standpoint. My pedagogical interest includes Group Piano Instruction and Teaching Children with Special Needs.
As part of my training, I have competed and awarded in numerous statewide (California), national and international piano competitions and festivals as well as participated in master classes of John Perry, Menahem Pressler, Yuri Vdovin, Michael Richman and Richard Cionco.
Throughout the years, I had been under the tutelage of many distinguished performers and pedagogues, including Dr. Emily Hung, Dr. Lorna Griffitt, the late Dr. Reid Alexander and Dr. William Heiles.
Upon graduation from the University of Illinois in 2013, I continued to teach preparatory lessons at U of I. In addition, I joined the piano faculty at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois where I taught group piano and preparatory piano lessons for two years. I am a faculty member of Illinois Summer Youth Music (ISYM), a notable summer music camp sponsored by the School of Music at the University of Illinois. I am a past member of Illinois State Music Teacher Association and the Decatur Area Music Teacher Association, Texas Music Teacher Association (TMTA), Independent Music Teacher Association (IMTA), Royal American Music Conservatory (RACE), California Assocation of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT) and Music Teacher’s Association of California (MTAC). Currently, I am a member of the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA), and Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA).
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MY TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Music should tell a story. My goal for my students is for them to foster a passion for music and find the joy in the process of music-making while ensuring they understand how to interpret different styles found in each musical period. In every lesson, I look for opportunities to develop their musicality through creative pedagogical means. I believe good technique does not exist on its own. Rather it should always be reflected in the tone (the sound) that is created. Therefore, a strong emphasis is laid on technical requirements and they are further polished through the learning of proper level repertory.
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I believe piano lessons should be fun, enjoyable, rewarding and it should be tailored to each student's needs and learning styles. This is why as a teacher, I like to spend an adequate amount of time prior to accepting any students, to interview the potential student and his/her parent. Upon accepting the student, my goal is to be devoted to my students as individuals. I strive to support them as they develop into a healthy musician while caring for their person as a whole, as much as I am able to.