Information About Maria - Hinckley teacher -

(1 review)

Personal Description:

***ONLINE LESSONS AVAILABLE*** I am a professional pianist and harpsichordist. I have over 25 years experience teaching music to children and adults. I currently offer ONLINE and in-person lessons.

I began studying music at eight years old in Venezuela. In 1997 I graduated from the University of Musical Studies in Caracas with a degree in piano performance, under the guidance of Arnaldo Pizzolante. The same year, I received an award for artistic merits from the Venezuelan Ministry of Family and a scholarship to study harpsichord at Conservatoire Erik Satie in Paris. I studied there with Elisabeth Joyé and received my Premier Prix de Clavecin with distinction in 2000.

In 2007 I completed my Masters Degree in Advanced Studies in the History of Spanish Music at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. Simultaneously, I continued studying the harpsichord with Tony Millán, first at the Conservatorio Arturo Soria in Madrid, achieving my Professional Diploma with distinction in 2008, and later at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, where I graduated with distinction in 2014.

I was given private harpsichord lessons from Pierre Hantaï and Medea Bindewald. I have participated in harpsichord master classes given by Bob van Asperen, Ketil Haugsand, Enrico Baiano, Nicolau de Figueiredo, Rubén Guzmán, Blandine Verlet, David Roblou, Therese de Goede, Christophe Rousset, Boris Kleiner, Beatrice Martin, Luc Beauséjour, Abraham Abreu, Silvia Márquez, Dirk Börner and Jacques Ogg.

I have worked as accompanist with both instruments and as stage musician with the Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico de España. In my artistic career, I have played as a piano and harpsichord soloist and as a continuo player with different chamber music ensembles and orchestras in Venezuela, UK, France, and Spain.

I have been living in the United Kingdom since 2015 where I currently teach piano and harpsichord privately and work as a freelance musician.

Tutoring Experience:

I have over 25 years experience teaching music to children and adults. I have been teaching piano in music schools, primary schools and in private sessions since 1992. I have also taught music theory, harmony, harpsichord, repertoire and basso continuo.

Tutoring Approach:

I offer in-person and online lessons. My approach to teaching makes learning the piano a fun and enjoyable experience. I always put innovation, imagination and humour into my private lessons. My students love learning this way, and practising the piano becomes something they really want to do!

Students are given the freedom to progress at their own pace and I give positive feedback making sure they are aware of their achievements. It is my mission to help each student achieve their musical potential in a relaxed and enjoyable manner, enabling them to discover and take advantage of their potential.

To accomplish this:
- Students learn to explore the instrument through amusing and creative activities. This is particularly helpful for beginners. They have fun improvising, singing, imitating, creating their own music, playing by ear their favourite tunes, etc. Students actively collaborate during their classes and feel valued and respected.

- They go home knowing how their pieces sound and how best to further practise them in their own time. This simple step greatly helps accelerate and facilitate learning, as they realise how to connect the lesson with practice at home, which in turn makes students feel more confident and motivated.

- My students enjoy playing music they like. In addition to helping them discover piano and harpsichord repertoire of different musical styles, my students also have the option of playing songs or pieces of their own choice, such as pop music, film music, etc.

​​- My pupils learn to appreciate and understand music from their first lesson. I show them, in an easy-to-grasp way, the connections between the pieces and the different areas of music, such as notation, chordal foundations, improvisation, composition, music history, aural, technique, theory, sight-reading and memory, amongst others. These connections form a complete knowledge base, helping students to learn more naturally, creatively and in-depth.

Students of all ages and abilities are welcome.
Lessons can be taught in English, French or Spanish.
I offer preparation for ABRSM exams (piano, harpsichord and music theory)
I have a completed Educare child protection training course.