Sounds of Encouragement

Send us Fan Mail RAMI BAR-NIV is one of Israel's most acclaimed and sought after pianists. He travels extensively and has become an international citizen, concertizing all over the world.  Born in Tel-Aviv, he graduated with honors from the Ron Conservatory and the Rubin Academy of Music, and was the recipient of many prizes and scholarships. He won the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Comp...

Send us Fan Mail Gerardo Ramos Gonzalez is from Guadalajara, Mexico.  He is a professor in the Music Department at the University of Guadalajara. His class is called Inglés Aplicado a la Música - IAM -(English Applied to Music) which under the English as a Second Language category is "English for Specific Purpose." All of his students are music majors within specific divisions: Performan...

Send us Fan Mail Tony Parlapiano is a piano instructor who specializes in teaching popular styles of music through interest-led learning. He is the creator of popMATICS, a concept-based music curriculum that approaches learning by listening and reading through writing. Tony is the owner of Parlapiano Studio, an online studio that provides private instruction and small group training to students an...

Send us Fan Mail White-facing, biracial, multi-passionate soprano Tara Priolo has cultivated a career including performing, teaching, brand coaching, activism, and arts administration. As an educator she shares her propensity for enlivening student’s confidence paired with her strong interest in vocal pedagogy. Frequently requested as a guest soloist by smaller organizations and colleagues, Tara e...

Send us Fan Mail Find Door County Amplify at https://www.facebook.com/DoorCountyAmplify Lachrisa Grandberry is a Milwaukee born native who has made her home in Chicago. She is an actress and singer who has performed on many stages; as well as a writer with a world premiere production coming this fall. She is beyond grateful for her community of family and friends, and Paonessa Talent Agency for th...

Send us Fan Mail Amie Webster is an engaging piano teacher of 25 years, Mom of 3 busy little boys and started Motif Music Studios, alongside her husband, Jeff Webster, in 2010.  Motif Music Studios is now a collaborative online music school with a team of creative, heart-led teachers who are focused on nurturing students in their musical growth and seeing students thrive as their individual streng...

Send us Fan Mail Sam Reti is a guitarist, teacher and the Founder of Muzie. Live. Sam was born in Manchester, England and raised in North Andover, Massachusetts. He picked up the guitar when he was twelve and never set it down again. He definitely inherited his dad’s love of music. Together they had father and son jam sessions every day after school. Sam on guitar and his dad on the drums!  After...

Send us Fan Mail Jessica Evotia Andrews-Hall is an award winning pianist who is in demand as a collaborative performer, teaching artist and arts advocate. Her past teachers include Michi North, Dr. Peter Mack, Dr. Rebecca Steele, Francis Walker-Slocum and Dr. Karen Walwyn. Under their guidance, she has performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, the White House and Benaroya Hall. In 2011, Jessica beca...

Send us Fan Mail Composer, arranger, and teacher, Christopher Norton is universally regarded as the leader in his field. Born in 1953, he is a New Zealand-born, now Canadian-based composer.  His long and fruitful association with Boosey & Hawkes has resulted in the world-famous Microjazz series , the Preludes for piano, 2 Concert Collections for piano and, with his wife Wendy, 30 Micromusicals...

Send us Fan Mail Wendy Edward’s Beardall-Norton was born in Toronto, Ontario, raised in Hamilton, Ontario, married and lived in Toronto and in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she lived and taught music and was very involved with the musical life of the city for over 40 years, and where two of her sons, Gregory and Cameron and their families still live.   In 2014, some 15 years after her first hu...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode to celebrate the One Year Anniversary of the Podcast, we dive into issues faced by Creatives in the LGBTQIA+ community. We have much to learn, share, and lean into. Please check out Aaron Johnson Levy's show "The House" on FoxSoul (on YouTube or streaming). https://foxsoul.tv/shows/the-house/ You can give feedback about and support the show b...

Send us Fan Mail Seth Thomas holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance. He believes that an efficient technique is key to enabling students of all ages and ability levels to achieve their full musical potential. His education and experience with the Taubman Approach and Alexander Technique allows him to help his students avoid fatigue and injury at the piano. Seth Thomas has been playing...

Send us Fan Mail Felipe Mirafuentes is a pianist, music teacher, father of 2 and husband. He earned a Bachelor Degree in Music (piano) at Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, Veracruz, México. He has dedicated his entire life to music as a performer, arranger, composer and teacher. He works in Mirafuentes Piano Studio in Playa del Carmen, México. You can learn much more and follow Felipe at: https:/...

Send us Fan Mail Allison M. Schweitzer (aka Allison Emm) is a horn player, pianist and conductor from Wauwatosa, WI. She began Wisconsin Music Ventures in the summer of 2019 as a way to offer musician friends fun, engaging performance experiences while serving as accessible listening opportunities for her private music students and others who might “find” the live music. She has been teaching pian...

Send us Fan Mail Shirley Wang is an award-winning operatic soprano, pianist, international bestselling author, entrepreneur, host, expert instructor, music arranger, illustrator, and children's Chinese curriculum creator. As a musician, she has performed across the U.S., including the Carnegie Hall. In 2020 she started an interview series, Tuesday Conversation with Friends featuring performin...

Send us Fan Mail Dorla is a piano teacher who supports group piano teachers with organized and engaging resources that will help them offer excellent group piano classes. She believes that teaching in a group setting is one of the best ways to keep the world of piano teaching alive during this century. Over the past three years, Dorla has created a framework for teaching students of different ages...

Send us Fan Mail Strategies for dealing with Entitlement Behaviors for Service Industry Professionals Uk5j9wAEo2wZ7lskKfUu Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Michael Faire is currently a student at Reinhardt University, studying music performance and music composition. His current teachers are Hollie Pritchard and Dr. Chris Ferebee. He currently is the bass trombonist of the Reinhardt University Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band. On top of playing with various ensembles, he also is the music librarian for the instrumental department at Reinh...

Send us Fan Mail Born and raised in Las Vegas, NV. Travis Lohmann is a composer for film/media. Various film festivals showcasing Travis' music are: LA 48 Hour Film Festival, The United GI Film Festival, The Dam Short Film Festival, and the Laughlin International Film Festival. His music can be heard on various TV networks including: NBC Sports, Discovery, Oxygen, Lifetime, and Bravo. In 2015...

Send us Fan Mail Jennifer Foxx is nationally recognized from her teacher resource blog, MusicEducatorResources.com . She runs a successful piano studio in AZ, has been interviewed on several music podcasts and has written articles for several music publications. She enjoys presenting and creating music resources and curriculum for teachers to use in their studios. Jennifer's Top 5 Songs of En...

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Send us Fan Mail Eric Branner is the CEO/Co-Founder of Fons. He’s a third-generation music teacher, plays guitar, and wrote the Blackforrest Guitar Companion. In another life, he dreams of being a pro surfer He lives in Seattle with his family Alyson, Edie, and Huck. To learn more about Eric Branner, please visit https://www.ericbranner.com/#intro To learn more about Fons, please visit https://fon...

Send us Fan Mail A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Aaron has acted on stage nearly his entire life--from playing Tom Sawyer in first grade to The Criminologist in the Claremont Colleges production of the Rocky Horror Show. He started a professional acting career in Israel after playing the role of Tom Collins in the country's first production of Rent. In 2010 he returned to the U.S. to enter a doc...

Send us Fan Mail Look at you! Using those 2 little words to spread positivity, encouragement, and build community!  I encourage you to do 2 things with your Thank You's: 1) Be Intentional - don't throw those words away or utter them under your breath; be intentional about thanking people in your daily and weekly interactions - genuine, sincere thanks directed to another person creates co...

Send us Fan Mail Join me for this wonderful conversation with Derek Vann! The day we recorded there were internet issues that affected the audio quality. As much as possible was done to correct the audio in post-production, but please be sure to click the links to listen to Derek's Top 5 Songs of Encouragement. Thank you for listening! Derek Vann began studying piano and composition with his...