Acerca de

Biography

Peggy Ashland Taylor is a graduate of Kansas University with a BME in Music Education/Music Therapy with Emphasis in Piano, where she studied piano with Richard Angeletti and Jane Abbot Wood. She is a member of MTNA and MTAC Lakewood-Cerritos Branch, where she has served as Branch President, Treasurer, CM Chair, Webmaster and Advisor.

Ms. Taylor is presently serving on the MTAC State Executive Board of Directors as State Treasurer and as an MTAC Foundation Committee member. She previously served 10 years on the State Certificate of Merit® Council, training & recruiting CM evaluators for the South, supporting online CM scheduling, and overseeing the development of the CM Harp and Guitar programs. She concurrently serves on the Executive Board of the Southern California Jr. Bach Festival as Website Secretary, and is a Certificate of Merit® and Bach Festival adjudicator and judges a variety of other festivals across Southern California.

Ms. Taylor maintains a private piano teaching studio in Cerritos and enjoys continued studies and ensemble playing with colleagues. Her students have been prize winners in Bach Festival, SYMF, Cypress College Piano Competition, Long Beach Mozart Festival, Grand Prize in Fullerton College Ensemble Competition and the Bradshaw & Buono International Competition NY.

Students regularly perform in the MTAC Convention Recitals and Master Classes, as well as performing in the Anderson and Roe Masterclass at the MTNA National Convention.

Affiliations:

Teaching Philosophy

I am an experienced Private Piano Teacher offering professional, high-quality instruction "taylored" to each student’s goals and learning style.

Empowering Students

The focus of my teaching is to not only encourage a love of learning and performing piano, but to also empower students with the skills that will enable them to enjoy a lifetime of music making. Most students are enouraged to participate in MTAC's annual Certificate of Merit® evaluations, as well as a host of other workshop, festival, and recital opportunities that provide goals to ensure well-rounded and speedier advancement.

Comprehensive lessons:

Technique - develops finger independence, strength, speed and touches, as well as, hand/arm position, posture, and larger muscle gestures for beautiful sound and brilliant performances
Sight reading - a most important skill - fluent music readers can learn new music with greater ease and are more likely to enjoy playing piano as a lifetime skill when they are not struggling to read the score
Rhythm - rhythmic precision makes performances exciting and enables playing with others
Repertoire - from Bach to Jazz, every era and style has it's own distinctive characteristics to explore
Theory - musical analysis provides insight and understanding
- aids in learning and memorization
- supplies the tools to compose and create your own music
Ear training - develops the ear to identify melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements, useful in learning new music, ear playing and recreating

Artistry

There are many elements that lead to winning musical performances in addition to playing the right notes. Students experience the satisfaction of playing expressively as they are exposed to a wide range of sounds, rhythms, repertoire and musical styles. The ultimate goal is to help them connect with the spirit and artistry of the music.

Confidence

In an effort to improve performance confidence and studio commaraderie, students share their performances with fellow students at casual monthly workshops and, more formally, with family and friends at twice yearly recitals. Students wishing more challenging opportunities may enroll in additional festivals and competitions.

Practice = Success = Motivation

I will work to the best of my ability, and I expect every student to work to the best of his or her ability. Students are encouraged to advance as quickly as possible in order to maintain interest. The fun and enjoyment of learning piano comes through the discipline of daily practice - students are motivated by their successes (plus a few stars, stickers and trophies along the way)!

Serving the Cities of: Cerritos, La Palma, Cypress, La Mirada, Los Alamitos, Lakewood, Long Beach, Buena Park, Norwalk, Artesia, Bellflower, Downey, Westminster, Huntington Beach & Seal Beach, CA