• Gold Medal-Winning Instruction – Learn from a professional Steinway Artist recognized by the Global Music Awards, Artists International, The American Prize. Graduate of Yale University, Conservatory-trained in USA and Europe.
• Personalized Programs – We tailor every lesson to your goals—college prep, competitions, or enrichment.
• Premier Location – Conveniently located in Fort Sheridan, IL, serving the greater North Shore and Chicago suburbs.
• Chamber Music and Duo Coaching – Unique opportunities for ensemble training with professional partners.
• Audition & Competition Preparation – Proven success guiding students into top conservatories and music programs.

Teaching piano at the highest level is, for me, an act of deep intellectual engagement, artistic exploration, and human mentorship. I view the studio as a laboratory in which technique, musical imagination, historical understanding, and personal expression converge. My primary goal as a teacher is to cultivate independent, resilient, intellectually curious musicians who are prepared not only to perform at a high level, but to build meaningful, sustainable lives in music.

At the core of my pedagogy is the belief that technique exists in service of expression. While I insist on disciplined technical foundations—sound production, efficient movement, rhythmic integrity, and structural clarity—I approach these elements not as mechanical ends, but as tools for artistic freedom. Students in my studio learn to understand how the body produces sound, how phrasing arises from harmonic direction, and how style emerges from historical and cultural context. Whether working with a first-year undergraduate or an advanced graduate student, I stress that every technical decision must serve musical intention.

Equally central to my teaching is deep score study and stylistic literacy. I require my students to engage analytically with form, harmony, voicing, articulation, and historical performance practice. Repertoire is chosen not only for technical development but for long-term artistic growth. My studio curriculum integrates solo, chamber, and concerto literature so that students develop versatility, collaborative awareness, and orchestral listening skills alongside solo command.

I am particularly committed to helping students develop artistic identity and professional agency. Many gifted young musicians struggle not because of ability, but because they lack a framework for building a career. I guide students in:

• Strategic repertoire planning
• Competition and festival preparation
• Audition psychology
• Collaborative networking
• Recording and performance presentation
• Website and professional profile development

I believe that in today’s musical world, teachers must prepare students not only to win auditions, but to create opportunities, form ensembles, engage their communities, and sustain artistic momentum throughout their lives.

My teaching is also shaped by humanistic mentorship. Students arrive with differing personalities, learning styles, backgrounds, and levels of confidence. I adapt my approach accordingly—sometimes as a coach, sometimes as a collaborator, sometimes as a steady anchor during moments of doubt. I hold my students to high standards while maintaining an atmosphere of trust, psychological safety, and encouragement. Excellence flourishes best where rigor and care coexist.

As a lifelong performer, conductor, and recording artist, I bring the real-world demands of the profession directly into the teaching studio. My students regularly observe rehearsals, attend professional concerts, participate in collaborative projects, and perform alongside working musicians. This experiential model allows students to absorb not only how music is prepared, but how professional musicians think, listen, problem-solve, and communicate.

Finally, I believe that teaching is itself a creative art, one that evolves through continuous learning. I remain actively engaged with current research in performance psychology, motor learning, and pedagogy, and I regularly reassess my methods through the lens of lived studio experience. My most meaningful measure of success is not simply competition wins or institutional placement—though those have been abundant—but the long-term artistic lives my students build for themselves.

In every lesson, rehearsal, and performance, my aim is the same:
to help each student discover not only what they can play, but who they can become as an artist and as a human being.

Susan Merdinger, Steinway Artist, December 2025