TESTIMONIALS
"My son has been been interested in music for most of his life, and has taken piano lessons for the last several years. He was starting to get bored, but then we found Alina. We talked a lot about his history and experience, and she focused on his skill set and interests, and made it fun for him to play again. She assessed his abilities and found music that would challenge him while improving his skills, and allow him to be creative and inspired to make the music his own in a variety of ways. It’s a very collaborative relationship, and she has helped him to learn music that he enjoys, as well as adding vocals to the mix - teaching him to play and sing simultaneously, and to play as accompaniment to another singer. She works with him on a variety of musical genres, from classical to contemporary, all stretching his abilities and teaching him new techniques. She is patient, always pleasant to work with, and very knowledgeable. She treats music as a living, changeable thing, not rote practice that is boring and constant. She teaches the mechanics, but also the heart and expression of the music. She is great at communicating, and makes it easy to understand what she is teaching. I can’t say enough good things about her!"
– Kris B.
​
"Alina is an absolutely wonderful piano teacher. I give her hands-down the highest recommendation I can. Plus, she comes to our home to give me the gift of stress-free piano lessons that fit right into our family life.
She has been working with my three kids since July 2016.
--With my 5 year old, Alina has been supremely sensitive to teaching him in a way that respects his shorter attention span (10-15 minutes) and developing fine motor skills. He doesn't read yet, so Alina teaches him songs using numbers for each finger--that really works for him and he gets to succeed at playing whole songs! Alina also incorporates creative exercises like improv activities using only black keys and games that strengthen his little fingers.
--With my 8 year old son and 10 year daughter, Alina supported them in mastering the fundamentals of playing within about 4-5 months. Now she asks them about their specific interests. Recently, they learned different pop songs, which they loved. Currently, they are working on relatively complex songs from the musical Hamilton; Alina prepares a slightly easier arrangement for them ahead of their lesson and they are each loving the process of learning songs that cater to their personal interests and current ability.
Alina is always on time, always has a smile on her face, and treats our entire family with kindness every single week. We hit the jackpot in finding her!"
-Jolie D.
​
"Alina has a true gift teaching music/piano to children. She has taught my two boys ages 6 & 8 for 2 years now and I am so happy she is part of my children's lives. She really gets to know each child as an individual and focuses on the things that motivate them and bring the joy of music into their lives. We all love Alina !!!! "
– Anna K.
​
"Miss Alina has been teaching my son piano for almost two years. Not only has he progressed at a remarkable rate, he truly loves and enjoys music. Alina is a joy to work with; she is very professional and personable. She is very responsive, not only in terms of logistics but also in eliciting from the family what their goals are for the music lessons. For example, a lot of Alina's piano students like to learn contemporary music, but that didn't work for my son. Based on her knowledge of my son's interests, she suggested that he learn to read music and musical notations (much earlier than usual) and this has been very successful. Alina has a very expansive knowledge base about music education and is able to customize instruction for the child's needs. I highly recommend contacting her to customize instruction for your individual child or for small group preschool instruction in your home."
– Julie P.
​
"Alina has been a wonderful piano teacher for my two young daughters. She really tailors the piano lessons to the students' interests. For instance, she is currently teaching them pop songs which the girls have thoroughly enjoyed, but they have also learned to played songs from many genres of music such as jazz, classical, and blues. She is always prompt and professional. We have been very lucky to have been introduced to Alina by our neighbor."
–Ivy H.
​
"My name is Maya and I am 9 years old. Miss Alina teaches me piano once a week at my house. She is very kind and patient! It’s a good idea to have a pencil and notebook ready for her, because then she can write down what you need to work on so that you don’t forget. She always lets you pick out the songs that you want to learn out of her music books, and she is very patient when you start to read the notes. It can be tricky, but Miss Alina encourages you a lot! And she is very fun, too! When I started with her, I had trouble reading the notes. So she let me come up with acronyms for Treble Clef lines and spaces, as well as Bass Clef lines and spaces. This helped me a lot! Miss Alina is very nice, encouraging, helpful, talented and cool! I really suggest her!"
-Maya W.
​