Aubrey Faith-Slaker
Aubrey Faith-Slaker, Piano
Classes/Instrument(s) taught: Traditional Piano, Suzuki Piano, Suzuki Group
Preferred student age: any age
Preferred student level: Intermediate
What do you want to impart to your students through your teaching?
Independence; Sensitivity to sound and touch; Ability to communicate an idea to an audience through music; Pride in accomplishment.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Really getting to know a student and seeing them improve, getting excited about things WITH my students, and being there for the moment when a student, and even a parent suddenly GETS it - whatever it is that we have been working on.
Briefly describe your musical pursuits outside Sherwood:
Suzuki trained as a child at the Music Institute of Chicago; B.M. in Piano Performance from University of Illinois; B.M. in Piano Pedagogy from University of Illinois; M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Southern Methodist University; Maintained private studio and performed chamber music in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Maintained private studio in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Recently returned to the Chicago area, am teaching at the Suzuki-Orff school as a Suzuki Piano instructor and in their BabySteps program, am thinking about finishing my music therapy degree, and am looking for chamber music performance opportunities.
What is your earliest musical experience or memory?
I remember a performance I gave at a Suzuki workshop as a very little girl when I accidentally announced the wrong piece and didn't realize it until I was halfway through performing. I was mortified, but everyone though it was "so cute." I was in book 2. It was either that or my dog howling every time I went back and played the Twinkles.
Please describe one of your favorite teachers or mentors:
My favorite teacher was actually one I had in graduate school - she had a lot of experience teaching children, and really knew how to get the most out of her students. Through example, passion, and effective words, she was able to get her students to first hear exactly what she had in her ear, and then produce it for an audience. She was always so encouraging and I liked to play for her.
Who is your favorite composer, or what is your favorite musical period?
Beethoven is my favorite composer by far. He was writing at a time when there were such huge changes in music and being a pianist, I find this time very exciting since such enormous strides were being made in piano development. I have studied his sketches and am in awe of the fact that he was essentially writing for an instrument that didn't yet exist. I also enjoy the Baroque very much and more experimental and pianistic works of the 20th century such as Debussy and Schoenberg.
Classes/Instrument(s) taught: Traditional Piano, Suzuki Piano, Suzuki Group
Preferred student age: any age
Preferred student level: Intermediate
What do you want to impart to your students through your teaching?
Independence; Sensitivity to sound and touch; Ability to communicate an idea to an audience through music; Pride in accomplishment.
What do you enjoy most about teaching?
Really getting to know a student and seeing them improve, getting excited about things WITH my students, and being there for the moment when a student, and even a parent suddenly GETS it - whatever it is that we have been working on.
Briefly describe your musical pursuits outside Sherwood:
Suzuki trained as a child at the Music Institute of Chicago; B.M. in Piano Performance from University of Illinois; B.M. in Piano Pedagogy from University of Illinois; M.M. in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Southern Methodist University; Maintained private studio and performed chamber music in Cheyenne, Wyoming; Maintained private studio in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Recently returned to the Chicago area, am teaching at the Suzuki-Orff school as a Suzuki Piano instructor and in their BabySteps program, am thinking about finishing my music therapy degree, and am looking for chamber music performance opportunities.
What is your earliest musical experience or memory?
I remember a performance I gave at a Suzuki workshop as a very little girl when I accidentally announced the wrong piece and didn't realize it until I was halfway through performing. I was mortified, but everyone though it was "so cute." I was in book 2. It was either that or my dog howling every time I went back and played the Twinkles.
Please describe one of your favorite teachers or mentors:
My favorite teacher was actually one I had in graduate school - she had a lot of experience teaching children, and really knew how to get the most out of her students. Through example, passion, and effective words, she was able to get her students to first hear exactly what she had in her ear, and then produce it for an audience. She was always so encouraging and I liked to play for her.
Who is your favorite composer, or what is your favorite musical period?
Beethoven is my favorite composer by far. He was writing at a time when there were such huge changes in music and being a pianist, I find this time very exciting since such enormous strides were being made in piano development. I have studied his sketches and am in awe of the fact that he was essentially writing for an instrument that didn't yet exist. I also enjoy the Baroque very much and more experimental and pianistic works of the 20th century such as Debussy and Schoenberg.