The Piano Pod - a global hub for innovation, education, and connection in classical piano music

We had the great fun and honor interviewing Mr. BLKBOK https://www.youtube.com/c/BLKBOK —a neo-classical pianist, composer, and Yamaha Artist who had worked as a lead pianist and musical director with A-list pop singers such as  ☑️ Rihanna ☑️ Justin Timberlake ☑️ Demi Lavato ☑️ John Mayer  💿 BOK (😁 yup, now we get to call him that way!) recently released a new album “Black Book”, a com...

TPP had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Ricardo Hernandez, Entertainment/Corporate attorney, from Nashville, TN, for this episode. We had such great conversations, covering the latest Taylor Swift dispute with her record label company, the pandemic aftermath, and tips on how to achieve a long, successful career in the music industry.  [Guest: Ricardo A. Hernandez]  Ricky is an associate in the N...

TPP has some important announcements to make for the audience on our audio platforms--in case you missed our social media posts lately.   In this special edition, Clara and Yukimi discussed the future of The Piano Pod🎙--how we can use this platform to spread the message of love and positivity.   Starting in the next episode, we will change up the format of the show a little bit to bring hotter and...

We had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Alexandria Le, concert pianist, Yamaha Artist, educator, and arts advocate.  A winner of over twenty first-prize music awards, her performance career has seen her play everywhere from Carnegie Hall and the Salle Cortot to the jails of Riker’s Island. After establishing her career in New York for over 15 years, she returned to her hometown, Las Vegas, t...

Part 2 of 2. TPP had the privilege of interviewing Claire Marie Lim, also known as dolltr!ck, for this episode. A professor in the Electronic Production & Design department at Berklee College of Music, she specializes in instruction for live electronic performance, production, and programming, and is an advocate of womxn and Asian representation in music technology. She is an Ableton Certified Tra...

Part 1 of 2. TPP had the privilege of interviewing Claire Marie Lim, also known as dolltr!ck, for this episode. A professor in the Electronic Production & Design department at Berlkee College of Music, she specializes in instruction for live electronic performance, production and programming, and is an advocate of womxn and Asian representation in music technology. She is an Ableton Certified Trai...

Part 2 of 2. For Season 2 Episode 3, TPP was privileged to interview Josh Massicot: keyboardist, author, songwriter, and educator.  We invited him for this episode for his approach to music education and particularly for his views on the Rolling Stone article (March 8, 2021): "Julliard Must Modernize, Or It Will Die," written by Emma Sutton-Williams. As a keyboardist, Josh has performed both with...

Part 1 of 2. For Season 2 Episode 3, TPP was privileged to interview Josh Massicot: keyboardist, author, songwriter, and educator.  We invited him for this episode for his approach to music education and particularly for his views on the Rolling Stone article (March 8, 2021): "Julliard Must Modernize, Or It Will Die," written by Emma Sutton-Williams. As a keyboardist, Josh has performed both with...

Part 2 of 2. Korean-born American pianist Min Kwon excels in a versatile career that encompasses concerti, solo recitals, and chamber music appearances, while in high demand around the world as a pedagogue, arts advocate, and administrator. She has held professional engagements in over 60 countries on seven continents and all 50 U.S. states, and currently is the Professor of Piano at Mason Gross S...

Part 1 of 2. Korean-born American pianist Min Kwon excels in a versatile career that encompasses concerti, solo recitals, and chamber music appearances, while in high demand around the world as a pedagogue, arts advocate, and administrator. She has held professional engagements in over 60 countries on seven continents and all 50 U.S. states, and currently is the Professor of Piano at Mason Gross S...

Part 2 of 2. Welcome to Season 2 of The Piano Pod! To celebrate the start of the new season, we interviewed Jeffrey Biegel, the renowned concert pianist, Steinway artist, recording artist, composer, and arranger. Mr. Biegel has performed with many major orchestras throughout the world, such as the London Symphony, the BBC Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the National Symphony, among m...

Part 1 of 2. Welcome to Season 2 of The Piano Pod! To celebrate the start of the new season, we interviewed Jeffrey Biegel, the renowned concert pianist, Steinway artist, recording artist, composer, and arranger. Mr. Biegel has performed with many major orchestras throughout the world, such as the London Symphony, the BBC Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the National Symphony, among m...

WE ARE BACK!!!! After a brief hiatus to rest and catch up on our own projects, The Piano Pod is ready to launch our second season! In this episode, we talk a bit about how we spent our summers, what we learned from our first season, and our plans for the new one, including our first three guests. Join us on YouTube for the premiere: https://youtu.be/u7yEBdZXE2s We were also recently featured on tw...

Part 2 of 2. For our final episode of Season 1, TPP interviewed Ben Laude, Juilliard-trained pianist, and Head of Piano at tonebase.co, a premium video subscription platform for classical music education. Tonebase revolutionizes music education by providing its users with a vast database of lessons, masterclasses, and interviews with some of the biggest names in performance and pedagogy - previous...

Part 1 of 2. For our final episode of Season 1, TPP interviewed Ben Laude, Juilliard-trained pianist, and Head of Piano at tonebase.co, a premium video subscription platform for classical music education. Tonebase revolutionizes music education by providing its users with a vast database of lessons, masterclasses, and interviews with some of the biggest names in performance and pedagogy - previous...

TPP had the privilege of interviewing James Redcay: Senior Executive Overseeing Operations and Sales at MidAmerica Productions (https://www.midamerica-music.com/), the most prolific presenter of choral concerts in the history of Carnegie Hall.  James explained to us how a six-year diversion in Macau, China 🇲🇴 where he created and managed entertainment programs for the world's largest casino compan...

In this episode, Yukimi, Eric, and Clara abandon their roles as interviewers to return to their first love: playing the piano! This full-length recital was livestreamed and broadcast through Zoom over Youtube and Facebook.  See the full performance here: https://youtu.be/0XqObHdQe6g   Program:   Yukimi Song Sonata in F minor, Op. 5 by J. Brahms I. Allegro maestoso III. Scherzo IV.  Andante molto V...

Part 2 of 2.  For this episode, TPP interviewed Madeline Bruser: Founder of the Art of Practicing Institute and author of the highly acclaimed book "The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart." An authorized instructor of mindfulness meditation in the Buddhist tradition, Madeline has presented mindfulness in secular contexts for more than 30 years. She frequently teaches worksho...

Part 1 of 2. For this episode, TPP interviewed Madeline Bruser: Founder of the Art of Practicing Institute and author of the highly acclaimed book "The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart." An authorized instructor of mindfulness meditation in the Buddhist tradition, Madeline has presented mindfulness in secular contexts for more than 30 years. She frequently teaches workshop...

Part 2 of 2. For Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), we had the privilege of interviewing Jim Ridl: jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, and educator. Jim shared with us his insights on improvisation and differences in approach between jazz and classical musicians. This interview rapidly evolved into more of a masterclass as he then demonstrated stylistic differences between blues and jazz, variou...

Part 1 of 2. For Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), we had the privilege of interviewing Jim Ridl: jazz pianist, composer, recording artist, and educator. Jim shared with us his insights on improvisation and differences in approach between jazz and classical musicians. This interview rapidly evolved into more of a masterclass as he then demonstrated stylistic differences between blues and jazz, variou...

Happy April, everyone! April is Autism Acceptance Month, so to promote neurodiversity and inclusion, we interviewed Selena Pistoresi - pianist, teacher, creator of Notablepiano.com, and neurodiversity specialist. With a studio of 50 students and a full waitlist, Selena has found success cultivating the gifts of students that many teachers often struggle with. In this episode, she explains neurodiv...

HAPPY 10TH EPISODE TO US! To celebrate this milestone, we decided to do a special episode, TPP Happy Hour! We had a few drinks, laughed about the mistakes we made in our early episodes, and also celebrated what we did right, and what we've learned along the way. This special edition covers all our podcasts from the introductory episode through Episode 6.  We were reminded how fortunate we have bee...

In this episode, TPP interviews Dr. Jonathan Ong 🇦🇺, classical pianist, improviser, arranger, and Twitch streamer! With over 57,000 followers, 2.4 million views, and 3,500 hours of streaming time, Jonathan is ranked in the top 0.1% of all Twitch streamers and is among the world’s top Twitch music channels.  We had a great time talking to him about "digital busking," making it in a freelance econom...

Part 2 of 2. In this episode, TPP interviews Frederic Chiu: international concert pianist, innovator, Yamaha Artist with over 30 recorded albums, creator of Deeper Performance Studies, and distinguished faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University and The Hartt School. Frederic generously went way over our typical interview length of 45 minutes, and it was hard for us to stop talking with him! A d...