My children and I have been taking piano lessons with Shawn for the better part of the last fifteen years. Shawn has an encouraging, warm and friendly disposition. Shawn brings a holistic approach to teaching piano. He believes in the innate musicality of every person. Shawn is committed to teaching the technical aspects of music theory while embracing improvisation and individual creativity. Due to his astute teaching, our children have blossomed into young adults who write their own scores and feel confident performing and singing in public spaces.

My son has been studying piano with Shawn for nearly 8 years, both in person lessons and virtual lessons for the last 18 months (and now back to in person!). It was really important to me to find someone who would be able to motivate my child but who would also make learning piano fun and rewarding so that he’d continue to have joy in making music. A neighbor recommended Shawn to us and after our first lesson, we were confident that we could not have asked for a better teacher! Our son loves making music with Shawn and even during the worst of the lock down with everything moved to Zoom, our son always looked forward to his lesson time with Shawn. Even through a screen Shawn was able to make the piano fun and engaging!

Shawn is a consummate teacher - I truly believe he could teach any subject because he has that rare gift for making material come alive, meeting students where they are, and a passion for his work. My son has been taking virtual lessons with Shawn for a year now and Shawn has been tireless and creative in sharing his music with him. Some days they are playing on the piano, other days they are discussing music theory, and yet others they are working on the computer composing original works. Whether my son is on task or silly from a long day at school, Shawn always manages to tailor a lesson to the moment and corral him back to learning. His knowledge and appreciation of music in all its forms inspires his students. I’ve had the pleasure of referring Shawn to friends and we all agree he is a rare find!

Shawn is an incredible piano teacher - he has a magical ability to combine building musical skills with having fun and developing a love of piano. Whether they are working on learning the theme to Harry Potter, composing a soothing song for our new puppy, or doing a finger exercise challenge, our son never wants his lessons with Shawn to end! Shawn's patience, good humor, and creativity have turned our "I'm not good at music" kid into a proud piano player!

We were introduced to Shawn via a number of his students, and a glowing recommendation from our elementary school's music teacher. My daughter has been a student for the past two years, over a year of which was during a global pandemic. Both in person and on zoom, Shawn has instilled a love of piano in our daughter, all the while making the lessons fun, engaging and thoughtful to her interests and skill level. I'm so impressed with how much she's learned in such a short time and feel so lucky she has Shawn teaching her!

Shawn is a wonderful piano teacher and we feel fortunate to have our kids work with him. He really understands how to meet kids exactly where they're at, and tailors his lessons to meet their interests and needs. We love how he balances substantive piano instruction with fun activities and exercises, always leaving plenty of room for creativity and self-expression. Along with his patience and energy, he brings a real sense of joy to music-making. Our kids adore him!

My son started taking lessons from Shawn about a year ago. I was hesitant to start lessons as I had a strict teacher as a kid and learned to hate the piano. But Shawn has a unique way of teaching that includes the fundamentals, while also fostering creative exploration that is child led. Each class begins and he asks my son what he's been working on, and my son delights in creating his own songs to share with Shawn. I am so happy we found Shawn as a teacher so my child's joy and learning of the piano grow simultaneously.