Piano Lessons Calgary | Classical Music Lessons

Meet Our Team

We are a dedicated group of teachers who are passionate about helping you pursue learning and exploring the piano. YOU are our priority. We want to journey with you as you discover the limitless world of musical expression.

Meet Your Teacher!

Colette Hennebury, MC

Director, Piano Instructor

Colette has been teaching piano since 2009 and has worked with students ages 3.5 to adult. She has completed the Royal Conservatory of Music's (RCM) Elementary and Intermediate Piano Pedagogy certificates, as well as the Advanced Piano Specialist Training through the RCM. She enjoys working with students who wish to excel in RCM exams.

Currently, Colette is practicing and preparing for both the ARCT diplomas in Piano Pedagogy and Piano Performance, and has completed theory courses (History, Counterpoint) at the ARCT level. She welcomes students of all skill levels, and loves seeing her students develop confidence as they master their favourite pieces and develop into well-rounded musicians! Her favourite composer to play is currently Nikolai Medtner. When she is not teaching piano, Colette enjoys practicing the piano, spending time with her husband and cat, learning to play the saxophone, and researching pedagogy topics.

Gabriella Hsu

Gabriella transitioned her career from accounting to teaching piano to better align with her values and passion for music. Her experience includes teaching piano to children from 2005 to 2007 and she started teaching again at the beginning of 2016. She finds it fulfilling to watch her students grow in their excitement and experience of music. Gabriella studied music in the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) and completed Grade 9 Piano, and Grade 9 Harmony and History. She wishes to further pursue the piano pedagogy certificate program with the RCM to strive for excellence in teaching. Gabriella enjoys improvising and re-creating songs on the piano, jamming on the guitar with friends, learning new instruments, and going to music festivals and concerts.

Jaclyn Ruddy

Jaclyn's love for music spans a lifetime! She began playing piano when she was 5, and has achieved her Grade 9 RCM certificate with History 1 and Harmony 3, and Elementary Piano Specialist Designation. She is currently studying for her Grade 10 piano and enjoys helping her students succeed in RCM exams as well.. She has participated in Kiwanis Music Festivals and has traveled as far as Berlin, Germany as part of a choir. Jaclyn says, "As a child I was very high energy and always running around, the only time that I would sit still was in front of the piano. I loved practicing and performing for family and friends, and I’ve always had a passion for music and working through the Royal Conservatory Program. It provided me with structure and discipline through lessons, practicing and examinations. I had an amazing piano teacher growing up, she was definitely someone that helped mentor me, someone that helped shape me into the strong woman I am today. I want to share that with your children." Her favourite musical era is the romantic era, and Chopin is her favourite composer right now. In the summer, Jaclyn loves hiking and camping!

Amanda Chen

Music has been a major part of Amanda’s life since she was five years old. She has completed her Royal Conservatory of Music ARCT Diploma in Piano Performance, including all the theory corequisites (History 3, Counterpoint and Analysis), obtaining RCM Gold Medals in Grades 3, 6, 7, and 10 along the way. She has performed numerous times at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival, and was featured in the RCM Pop-Up recitals leading up to the 2016 Juno Awards. A fan of Fauré, she welcomes students of all ages and abilities, and is well-versed in the rigorous RCM curriculum. She is passionate about teaching as a means of sharing her love of music.
Outside of teaching, Amanda is currently working towards a bachelor’s degree in engineering at the University of Calgary, and also enjoys playing the saxophone, paintball, doing yoga, and travelling in her spare time.

Janet Kim

Janet developed an interest and passion for music beginning at the age of 5 and has worked her way through level 10 of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM). She has taught piano and theory over the past 10 years. She shares her musical talents with the local community, reaching out to vulnerable populations to bring joy and practice gratitude. Janet is invested not only in her students' musical growth but also their personal development, and loves to form meaningful and authentic relationships with every single one of her students. Aside from music, she is currently finishing up her Master in Public Health.

Bethany Koepke

Bethany has been teaching piano for 9 years. Her passion for teaching students of all ages stems from her early piano education. Beginning at the ripe age of 4, Bethany worked through the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) levels. Finishing with the practical exam of her Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT), she has her Grade 10 certificate as well as her Advanced Rudiments and Intermediate History and Theory Certificates.
Not only does she enjoy the complexity of Beethoven and Brahms, Bethany has dabbled with learning the flute and is swiftly falling in love with the ukulele. Her favourite part of teaching is seeing how proud her students are when they perform at recitals, as well as watching them having fun during lessons.

Davis Pham

Davis began playing piano at the age of 8 and has now completed Grade 8 RCM Piano, Theory, and History. Through the years, Davis has participated in numerous competitions and performances, and has even received scholarships from esteemed adjudicators such as Chuck Cave. Other instruments Davis has played include the flute, violin, cello and vocals as a member of the University of Alberta Concert Choir. Davis has been teaching piano for 3 years, but has plenty of teaching experience to all ages from teaching Taekwondo. Davis has a great passion for teaching and hopes to someday continue this pursuit at the post-secondary level. In his spare time, Davis enjoys listening to music of various genres, and playing the sport of Airsoft.

Heather Tran

Heather has had a passion for the piano and for music in general ever since she was born. She started playing the piano at the age of 4, and has since gone on to obtain her Bachelor of Art’s Degree in Music from the University of Guelph, along with achieving her Grade 9 piano and Grade 4 theory through Conservatory Canada. Throughout her life, Heather has also been involved in bands as a flautist from grade 7 well into her university studies. After university, she explored Audio Post Production at the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology (OIART) and has worked in a studio creating sound effects for films and television shows.

With her teaching career, Heather hopes to spread her love for music in all forms to her students. She is currently completing the RCM Elementary Piano Specialist course.

While away from the piano, Heather enjoys camping, photography, anything Disney, travelling, and developing her skills as a voice over artist.

Ellen Ji

Ellen started playing piano when she was six. She loved the beautiful sound of music but not as much as her daily practice on the piano. She became fascinated with playing piano when she discovered that it could help her create any popular songs she wanted on the piano just by memorizing the melody. Through years of playing and practicing piano, Ellen became skillful in playing both classical and popular songs. She completed the Shanghai Musicians Associate Grade 10 Piano Certificate and the Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 7 Piano Certificate. She is enthusiastic and loves to see her students grow in joy and success while mastering great pieces of music written by famous composers like Chopin and Beethoven. She also loves helping her students learn their favourite popular songs as well. Playing piano isn't the only expression of her love for music, she also enjoys playing and learning flute and clarinet when she is not working.

Ekaterina Paniukova

Ekaterina Paniukova received her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Certificate in Piano Pedagogy at Texas Tech University, and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Chamber Ensemble from Voronezh State Academy of Arts in Russia.

Ekaterina performed at Carnegie Hall, New York, USA, as a first prize winner in the International Concerto Competition American Protégée, USA. Ekaterina’s national and international competition awards include First prize in the Third International Competition “Mozart-Wunderkind”, Vienna, Austria; First prize in Public Inter-regional Competition of Musicians and Instrumental Ensembles “GARA”, Lipetsk, Russia; Certificate (Diploma) - Forum of Winners “Breakthrough”, Moscow, Russia; Certificate (Diploma) - All-Russian program “Hope of Russia”, St. Petersburg, Russia. Recently Ekaterina won the concerto competition at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA. Concerto appearances include Texas Tech University Symphony Orchestra in USA, the Voronezh State Academic Symphony Orchestra and Voronezh State Academy of Arts Orchestra in Russia.

Ekaterina has extensive experience in teaching. Before teaching at Calgary Piano Expressions she taught group keyboard programs and piano lessons for undergraduate students at Texas Tech University, USA. She was also an instructor in the School of Music No. 5 and the School of Music No. 16 in Voronezh, Russia. Ekaterina uses various method books in teaching, and always tries to find the best method for each student to make the learning process more effective and entertaining.

"I love to work with my students! In my view, the best part of being a teacher is to see my students’ achievements and desire to learn something new."

Cynthia Kwan

Since the age of 6 years, Cynthia has been following the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) curriculum and is currently working on her ARCT (Associate of The Royal Conservatory) Performer’s Diploma. She has completed and received all theory certificates from the RCM and achieved First Class Honors with Distinction for both Intermediate and Advanced History. She aims to convey the enjoyment of piano to her students while instilling in them strong techniques and musicality for this charming instrument. Beyond her life as a pianist and piano teacher she enjoys strumming a few chords on the guitar, increasing her knowledge in literature or just hanging around with her beloved canine.

Lauren Ully

Lauren is a native of Calgary and has been playing the piano since the age of five and has been teaching actively for over six years. She has completed her Level 10 RCM examination, and in 2006 moved to Lethbridge, Alberta to pursue her Bachelor of Music at the University of Lethbridge of whom she studied under the direction of Dr. Seung-Hye Lee and Dr. Deanna Oye.

Lauren has worked with individuals of all ages and has performed in a variety of styles including classical, musical theatre and modern, and has extensive knowledge in theory and piano technique. Lauren has also accompanied vocalists in various styles including arias, musical theatre, choirs and various church celebrations. She has composed a few of her own pieces for piano and would like to continue to do so.

Regardless of age and skill level, Lauren is excellent at determining the needs of her students and receives lots of positive feedback. She strongly believes in the relationship between music and health having recently completed schooling for holistic nutrition, and is hoping to continue in that field in the future.

Gabriele Roccella

Gabriele’s passion for music originated just about when he was a toddler, requesting to watch Disney’s “Fantasia” on a daily basis. He fell in love with the piano and in 2011 he obtained the 10-year Diploma in Piano Performance from the Conservatory of Palermo (his hometown) in Italy, with all the required complementary subjects (Solfeggio, History of Music, Harmony & Analysis). He performed numerous recitals both as a soloist and in chamber music ensembles, and was awarded bursaries during master-classes with internationally renowned teachers. His enthusiasm for sharing learning experiences led him to complete a 2-year training as a Teaching Assistant in the same Music Conservatory, working with students of all levels.

He is also extremely fond of progressive rock and various other genres, and thinks of music as a never-ending universe of opportunities for discovering one’s self and building relationships with other people. He is an all-round keyboard-instruments enthusiast and has dabbled with the harpsichord, while having fun with synthesizers as well. While he loves J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Skrjabin and Liszt, he enjoys far too many other composers to mention. He moved to Calgary in 2016 as a PhD student in Greek and Roman Studies at UofC, pursuing his interest for these ancient societies.

Michelle Mak

Michelle has been playing piano since she was 7 years old and has competed in many Kiwanis Festivals and performances. She has completed her Grade 8 RCM Piano and Grade 9 Theory. She is beginning her fourth year of teaching and has developed a passion in seeing her students fall in love with the music they play. Besides teaching piano, Michelle enjoys playing with dogs and travelling.

Michelle is currently on leave.

Megan Maller

Megan first began playing piano at the age of 7 and has had a continued passion for learning and developing her musical talents. Megan has completed her grade 8 RCM including her advanced rudiments. In addition to learning and playing the piano, Megan also enjoys playing the trumpet, guitar and the ukulele. Megan is continuing her study of music and passion for teaching through her educational pursuits at the University of Calgary, where she is enrolled in the bachelor of education and music program. Megan loves a wide variety of musical genres. However, she has a particular passion for jazz, classical piano and Broadway show tunes.

Rachel Kreyner

Rachel Kreyner is a versatile performer, accompanist and piano teacher with nearly a decade of experience teaching privately and accompanying for children’s musical-theatre and ballet schools, as well as University of Calgary ensembles. An active collaborative artist, she played for the U of C women’s chamber choir and the U of C orchestra in 2015, as well as being part of the U of C Klezmer/Global Village band from 2015- 2017. She also regularly collaborates with CPO-tenured instrumentalists, most recently with cellist David Morrissey and violinist Theresa Lane.
Rachel yearly assists students with juries, auditions, CMC, RCM exams and entries in the RBC concerto competition. In the summer, she is the Musical director at the Calgary Actor’s Studio, performing over seven musical theatre productions (in the space of five weeks) with students ages 10-18. She has performed in masterclasses held by the Honens and Pro Musica societies, as well as premiering new works for composers in the ‘Happening’ concert series. Various Canadian teachers shaped her piano technique, most notably: Professor Marilyn Engle, Ann Davidson and Irena Ginzburg.
Rachel recently completed her Master’s in Performance at the University of Calgary with Professor Charles Foreman, studying jazz with Professor Sheldon Zandboer. She is also the holder of a Performer’s ARCT from the Royal Conservatory of Music and a combined Bachelor of Music (performance)/ English Honors degree from the University of Calgary. During her tenure at the University of Calgary, she received a variety of awards including a grant from Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Rachel’s teaching philosophy emphasizes balance between sight-based and sound-based methods of learning music, and tailoring lessons to the specific abilities and interests of her students.

Brooke Dias

Brooke started her musical education at the age of six with piano lessons. She has completed her Grade 9 Certificate (Grade 9 Practical, and Grade 9 Harmony and History) with the Royal Conservatory of Music. She is currently studying for her Elementary Piano Specialist designation. Brooke has been teaching piano since 2016 and enjoys helping her students develop the joy of playing the piano. She delights in watching her students find their own love for music and keeping this passion alive for life. One of her favourite composers from the Romantic Era is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with the Nutcracker ballet being her favourite work. In addition to piano, Brooke enjoys reading novels, travelling with her family to see great architecture and being a contemporary and jazz dancer.

Xinran Zhang

Xinran has been in love with piano music since the age of 5 and has since been playing piano ever since. She earned her Grade 10 RCM certificate with the completion of Advanced Theory as well as Intermediate Harmony and History while she was in junior high school. Outside of piano performance, Xinran has volunteered as an accompanist for a choir group at the Sonata Music School. Xinran finds great joy in working with children of all ages regardless of whether they want to follow the RCM curriculum of their own direction - or both!
Watching her students work hard and take pride in their achievements is the most fulfilling part of teaching for her! She secretly adores duets and music from the Romantic era and would be ecstatic to play alongside her students.

Rebecca Wieben

Rebecca has had a passion for piano since she was 7 years old, and has since continued to grow and develop her personal musical style. She has completed up to Grade 9 RCM and received her Diploma in Music from the Red Deer College Music Program. In this program she completed courses in Composition, Music History, Theory, and Performance in both classical and contemporary piano, as well as group performances on the marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone. In recent years, her focus has turned to composing and improvising her own music on the piano, as well as developing song structure and lyric writing. Among her favourite composers/songwriters are Beethoven, Debussy, and Elton John.

Sarah Clark

Sarah first began playing piano at 2 years old, and has a passion for learning new musical instruments. Sarah has completed her Grade 9 RCM, and is currently pursuing a degree in Vocal Performance and Piano Performance. Sarah has taught piano for 6 years and voice for 2.

Sarah also enjoys playing guitar, bass, and the banjo. When not studying, Sarah enjoys composing her own songs. She would be happy to help her students with composition, and would be excited to see them excel and discover their own passion for making music.

Miriam Johnston

Miriam Johnston began playing the piano when she was 6 years old, and has taught piano since 2015. She is currently studying communications and media, which she is using to inform and shape her work with piano students.

"I have always loved piano because it lets me be independent, and the time I spend playing goes so quickly! I strive to guide my students until they are able to achieve the same freedom at the piano that I enjoy so much. One of the most exciting things for me about piano is being able to play whatever you want, when you want. To help students achieve this ability, I emphasise the importance of sight reading so that students can not only enjoy lessons where they spend time exploring and improving, but that they can play on their own at home and develop their own musicality. I want to build a solid musical foundation for all my students so they can begin their relationship with this beautiful instrument. I always appreciate feedback from students and parents so that I can tailor my approach to each student. Every day I strive to find new techniques, activities and challenges to teach my students and to learn them myself!"

Carmen Thien

More information coming soon...

Jackie Su