Teaching Philosophy

Teaching music and piano is one of the most meaningful parts of my life as a musician. I aim to help students develop their potential through having a strong technical foundation, thoughtful musical understanding through analysis, curiosity, imagination, expressive playing and a deep love of music. Technique is never separate from music. Work on details, styles, tone, articulation, and balance is always connected to sound, phrasing, and character. When students understand how music is built, they become more confident and independent musicians.

I also believe that every student learns differently. Some students are preparing for professional careers, while others study music for personal enrichment. My goal is to meet each student where they are, while encouraging them to work carefully, listen deeply, and aim for their best. My work as a performer strongly informs my teaching. Through my concert experience I can share practical insights about interpretation, preparation, and life as a musician. I want students to understand that music is both a discipline and a lifelong source of joy. Above all, I try to create a supportive and inspiring environment where students feel encouraged to explore, grow, and develop their own artistic voice.

About:

Praised by The Boston Globe as "a musical and expressive player" who is "sensitive and poetic, and excels in everything that requires elegance, proportion, balance, taste, and wit," internationally acclaimed pianist, recording artist, and educator. Dr. Nguyen has performed across the United States, Europe, and Asia and serves on the music faculty at Hunter College (CUNY). She has mentored and taught numerous students from pre-college to Master’s Degree and Doctoral levels, who have won competitions and performed solos with orchestras.

Her recent recording The Flower of France, Germaine Tailleferre, Works for Piano [MA- 1306], on the Music & Arts label received 5 stars from Fanfare, praising the recording as “alluring music by a wonderful composer performed by a wonderful artist." Pizzicato says Nguyen “plays with a brilliant lightness and a pictorial refinement. One listens to this program with real pleasure.”

Her music has been featured in Japan, Vietnam, and American television programs and over sixty international radio stations.  She recently performed with the Seattle Symphony orchestra at Benaroya Hall in a concert titled Celebrate Asia, with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra at Town Hall Massachusetts, with the London Symphony Orchestra in a world premiere recording for Naxos’s American Classics, and with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra for the concert commemorating the 25th anniversary of US Vietnam relations. Her current project include performing and recording the complete piano cycle Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jesus and Petites Esquires d’Oiseaux by Olivier Messiaen, having had the opportunity to study these works with Yvonne Loriod Messsiaen for her Fulbright Fellowship. 

Dr. Quynh Nguyen is currently teaching at Hunter College Department of Music, on Tonaleamusic.com, and privately at her studio on 88th street and Broadway. A graduate of The Juilliard School and Mannes College of Music, Quynh received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Graduate Center of City University of New York. She is the recipient of several highly prestigious scholarships and awards, including the United States Presidential Academic Fitness Award, the American Prize, and Gold Medal award from the Global Music Award.

Website: ww.quynhpiano.com
Email: quynh@quynhnguyen.com