“ I can confidently express there has been nothing more fulfilling than sharing my love of music with others.”
- Melissa
BOOK AN INTERVIEW WITH MELISSA NOW
I began teaching beginner piano at age 13 and now have over ten years of experience working with students of all ages and backgrounds. As a certified music therapist, my extensive experience working with children and youth inspires me to develop and adapt lessons that support individual learning styles and unique interests. From learning music for enjoyment to examinations and competitions, my approach to teaching emphasizes the importance of exploring and appreciating music through creative methods and expressive techniques.
Name: Melissa (Full name will be provided upon registration)
Age: 23
Gender: female
My passion for music began with my first piano lesson at the early age of three. In my later years, I studied piano with renowned pianist Patricia Rolston and completed my ARCT in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music in 2016. I graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Bachelor of Music Therapy and a minor in Psychology, during which I studied piano with Anya Alexeyev, an international performer and associate professor of the keyboard department at WLU. I received numerous scholarships and recognitions throughout my musical studies, including the Anne Brownjohn Memorial Award in Music Therapy, awarded to the student obtaining the highest cumulative GPA within the program. I sang with the Richmond Youth Honour Choir for many years throughout my childhood, later becoming their piano accompanist at age 12 and performing together in various local and international choral festivals. Notable performances include the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Richmond Children's Festival and collaborations with the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Peace Choir. In addition to piano and voice, I play concert and jazz alto saxophone, violin, guitar, and ukulele.
Music Therapist - Board Certified • Anne Brownjohn Memorial Undergraduate Award in Music Therapy • ARCT Performers Diploma • The University of Toronto National Book Award • District Authority Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts • Kronier Family Scholarship • RSS Award for Excellence in Music
Cantonese
English
Mandarin
Rates and Studio Policies
Registration Fee: $25.00 (One-time lifetime registration fee may be used by all family members)
Rates for instruction:
30 minute private lesson: $39.00
45 minute private lesson: $49.00
60 minute private lesson: $59.00
Travel charge: additional $15.00 per visit (for lessons in a client's home as opposed to my studio)
1. Cancellation Policy
Lessons not cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice are billable to the client and payable to the teacher. This does not of course apply to travel fees unless the notice is effectively given at the door and the teacher has travelled to the location.
2. Cessation (quitting) Policy
A client must provide a 2 lesson notice period to stop lessons. So a weekly student needs to give 2 weeks of notice, a biweekly student works out to 3 weeks notice and a twice weekly student works out to a week of notice.
3. Illness Policy
Lessons cancelled due to illness or extraordinary circumstances with less than 24 hours notice remain billable to the client and payable to the teacher.
BAH teachers are encouraged to offer a make-up lesson at a future date in the interest of client relations and general goodwill. This only makes sense as teaching a student with the flu for example, will ruin the rest of your week's employment.
No more than 2 lessons may be made up due to illness within a 60 day period.
4. Rescheduling Policy
Any lesson can be cancelled or rescheduled with at least 24 hours notice.
Summer Vacation and Extended Absence Policy
Clients may schedule longer absences for trips etc. 24 hours notice is required.
It is normal and typical for students and about 20% of our teachers to schedule a break in the summer. We do not enforce a notice period (see cessation of lessons) at the end of a long summer break.
5. Evaluation Period
There are no free trial lessons with Beethoven at Home but we do offer a 2 lesson evaluation period where it is easy to try out a teacher. There are no free lessons during the evaluation period and clients may choose to discontinue the lessons at any time by providing the required 24 hours notice. After the student's 3rd lesson the required 2 lesson notice period will apply (see cessation of lessons above).
Lessons in your home
Melissa is available to teach in your home if you are located in the following areas
Online lessons
Melissa can provide online instruction. While other platforms are possible BAH strongly recommends the use of the Zoom video conferencing platform as it is optimized for music lessons and audio quality.