Being born and brought up in the family of educators, Lana Tchernaia also followed the noble profession of teaching. She is the third generation teacher following her grandfather Yuri I. Tchernyi (1900-1985), and aunts Tatiana Y.Tchernaia (1941-), and Lana Y.Tchernaia (1931-).
Lana hails from Siberia, Tomsk region (Russia). She received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Tomsk Music College, Russia. She studied ensemble, and chamber music with Svetlana Anatolievna Chudakova, harmony with Vera Dmitrievna Sherina, and music history with Larissa Borisovna Gorn. Post-bachelor studies include Tomsk State University, music and philology.
She had the great privilege of taking a sight-reading course with world renowned performer and music educator Andrew Markow, head designer of the Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum, and co-author of the Four Star Sightreading Books. Vera Leinverbers also was among Lana's canadian coaches.
Lana has been committed to the important role of independent piano studios. She has maintained independent teaching studios in Tomsk, Russia; Montreal, Quebec; and Toronto, Ontario collectively for more than 25 years.
Throughout her career, Lana’s teaching combines the tradition of the Russian piano school with her own developed pedagogy approach and practice techniques. Her students continuously receive recognition for professionalism and high level of performance.
Patrick Hewan is a rising star in the Toronto Jazz scene whose energetic, virtuosic playing captivates and moves his audiences. Drawing on the vast vocabulary of the legendary jazz pianists who came before him he adds his own spirit and passion to create a unique sound and style. Studying under the tutelage of legendary pianists such as Mark Eisenman, Brian Dickinson, Richard Whiteman, Robi Botos, and Hilario Duran it’s no secret where Patrick developed his unique, high-octane style that clearly adheres to the art forms tradition. Patrick began studying classical piano at the age of four and was later introduced to the saxophone where he developed a great love for jazz. His education includes York University and Humber College and he is a recipient of the Berklee World Tour Scholarship for both sax and piano.
Performances include many venues in Toronto and throughout the globe with such artists as: Ron Westray,
Hanna Kim has been learning the piano since the age of five, and it has greatly shaped her musicianship. She possesses advanced keyboard skills in transposition, sight reading, score reading, and other techniques on the piano. She also has published several instruction books for children in Korea. In addition to the piano skills that she has nurtured, she has focused on gaining composition skills throughout her post-secondary studies. She earned a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Kyung Won University in South Korea in 2006 and a Master’s of Music in Composition from the Manhattan School of Music in 2010. In addition, she obtained an Artist Diploma from the University of Hartford in 2015 and served as a visiting scholar at the School of Music at Pennsylvania State University from 2015 to 2016.
Through her studies, she has had ample opportunities to compose for various instrumentations for such diverse occasions as school concerts, festivals, workshops, composition competitions, and seasonal concerts of local ensemble groups. Most recently, she has started her career as Minister of Music at the Calvary Baptist Church in Toronto. She is currently working as a Teaching Assistant in the composition as well as theory department at the University of Toronto. These working experiences have shown her the great value of life in sharing my knowledges, and experience to inspire and nourish the next generation. Hanna is a third-year DMA student with major in composition at the University of Toronto.
To play or not to play is out of the question:
Whether ‘tis ok for the mind to suffer
The inability to improvise and use one’s ear,
Or to take arms against a sea of notes,
And by the mental effort play them?
Lana and William
The Virtuoso By: Una V.
©2012
The last note has been played,
By me, “The Virtuoso”.
Every last,
Beat,
Rest,
Chord,
Has been practiced at least a thousand times.
And yet,
Every time I walk into the
Cold,
Dark,
Room,
I feel like a beginner again.
A different examiner every time,
But they’re all equally terrifying.
Did I make an impression?
Did they like me?
It doesn’t matter,
They can’t play my thoughts like a song,
So they just keep on typing.
Click,
Click,
Click.
I sit on the bench,
Hands sweaty, yet freezing.
And my heart keeps beating,
To the beat of the metronome.
My parents are in the same building,
But they’re sitting comfortably in the waiting room.
Will I join them soon?
“20%, 30%, 40%,”
Keeps ringing in my eardrums.
But I want more!
But now, the clicking has stopped.
“Congratulations,”
Smiles the examiner, handing me my certificate.
