Teaching
A dedicated piano pedagogue, Monica Ohuchi has been teaching piano students ranging in age from three years old to adult for the past three decades. Currently the Director of Music Performance at Reed College in Portland, Ms. Ohuchi has previously taught at the Juilliard School in the piano-minor department and has been invited as a guest-artist clinician at piano and chamber music workshops across the country.
Ms. Ohuchi’s primary goal is to make piano playing enjoyable and rewarding, to nurture a lasting appreciation of music. Her patient and encouraging approach has allowed her to cultivate unique student-teacher relationships with each student. Her innovative teaching method blends ideas adapted from existing pedagogical methods, while incorporating her own instructional approaches accumulated through years of experience.
Ms. Ohuchi firmly believes that her active performing career and extensive competition experience work to inform and enhance her approach to teaching, offering the unique insights of a veteran of the concert stage to her students. Similarly, her work with her students inspires her to approach her own performing with constantly evolving ideas. She feels blessed to have the opportunity to pursue both passions.
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Monica possesses the rare and invaluable combination of gifted teacher and passionate performer. Her love of the piano permeates each engagement with her students. She provides a sense of discipline with no loss of joy. Monica’s expectations are thoughtful and the challenges she sets in place are based on a true understanding of the individual she is working with. Her scrupulous care helps each of her students, regardless of their abilities, discover the very best musician in themselves. Who could ask for more? —Margie H., Brooklyn, NY
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Monica is one of the most dedicated, passionate and caring piano teachers I have ever met. Her positive attitude and patient nature never wavered. Monica set high goals for me and helped me accomplish things I would have never dreamed of doing, one of which was performing at Carnegie Hall! I know that without her unfailing faith in me, I would not be the same pianist that I am today. —Kasey L., Ardsley, NY
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Monica is nothing short of a fabulous teacher. My daughter loved her from the very first lesson–a sentiment that all Monica’s students and their parents share. Her teaching method is thorough, step by step and yet allows plenty of room for the particular talents and enthusiasms of each student. Monica’s dedication and love of teaching is evident in each lesson. She creates a warm studio environment at her recitals and builds on everyone’s gifts. Any child is lucky to have Monica as a teacher, both those students who play piano purely for fun and those who may become serious pianists. —Elizabeth H., Brooklyn, NY