Discover the Magic of Piano
Ignite Your Passion for Music
At Spark of Discovery Piano, I believe that playing the piano is an act of discovery, inducing a sense of wonder and satisfying a yearning only music can fulfill. Join me on this musical journey and let's explore the endless possibilities of piano playing together!
About Lessons
While I am based in Astoria, NY, lessons will take place at students' homes. Students under the age of 18 will require a parent present. Due to my full-time job, I am only available after normal business hours or on Saturdays. Currently only students living in Manhattan and Western Queens are accepted.
Lessons are offered in 30-, 45-, and 60-min slots. Rates are competitive with the rates in the NYC area. While music education is an investment, I understand that people have varying economic backgrounds and I will try my best to work with you to make the lessons work out financially in a way that is fair for both parties. Please do reach out to start a conversation!
Can't wait to start making music together!
About Alex
Alex showed an affinity for music from an early age. He enrolled in piano and later violin after his parents found him playing children song melodies by ear on his grandmother’s home organ and—true to his Wisconsin roots—her accordion. He started composing music soon after, writing reams of music for piano, violin, and larger ensembles. This included a solo piano piece that won Best Instrumental Piece in a state-wide composition contest in middle school. Alex also wrote multiple original pieces for string orchestra as well as transcribed myriad holiday, pop and rock hits for singers and instrumentalists that were performed at various concerts throughout high school.
As a performer, he achieved top marks at State Solo and Ensemble competitions on both piano and violin and earned positions in competitive state youth orchestras during high school. Alex also performed regularly as a piano soloist in college and at various competitions, though he most enjoyed performing alongside other musicians, either with his piano trio or accompanying string and vocal studios or the church choir.
Alex graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University and the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance under the guidance of Anthony Padilla, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, which he uses as a research scientist at a biotech company, studying how the brain controls inflammation in auto-immune disorders.
When not in the lab, Alex can be found teaching piano, by far his greatest joy in music. His experience teaching is broad and comprehensive. Alex started teaching a wide array of students during college, returning to his hometown to teach original 3-week intensive afterschool piano classes for elementary school students during winter breaks. After college, he moved to Indiana for work and ran his own piano studio for several years before moving to NYC, teaching 15 students from ages 4 to 60+. Alex’s teaching style is engaging, versatile, and encouraging, with a focus on playing expressively. Above all, lessons (and learning music) are meant to be fun and are little laboratories for students to combine their hard work and imagination to discover their musical voice. His greatest joy in teaching comes when his students' eyes light up with a "spark of discovery," that feeling when something "clicks" and they are able to add another idea or tool to their palette of musical self-expression. Whether students prefer classical music, pop, video game music, writing their own music, or anything in between, Alex’s ultimate goal is to instill the same sense of wonder and adventure in music that drew him to the art form as a child.