Piano Lessons

The Music Collection offers piano lessons for students of all ages and abilities from beginners to advanced. Learn to play for fun, or prepare for Conservatory Exams. All styles are available; classical, pop, jazz, rock, blues. Piano students usually can begin around four or five years old, but we do have teachers with trainning in early childhood education. These instructors are available to teach pre-reading instruction to three year olds.

Many of our piano teachers are also available for private or group theory instruction, including preperation for Royal Conservatory or Music Theory Exams.

Piano Teachers

Don Boland - Piano, Guitar and Bass Guitar

Megan Buffett - Voice, Piano
Megan Buffett is a Masters candidate in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at Memorial University. She has also completed her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at Mount Allison University in Sackville, NB where she also focused in composition. Her operatic roles include Alida Slade in Ward's "Roman Fever," L'enfant in Ravel's "L'enfant et les sortilèges," Belinda in Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas," and a partial role of Euridice in Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice." She also has recieved her Grade 8 Royal Conservatory certification in Piano. She was Composer in Residence for the year 2009-2010 at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Sackville, NB and during the same year held the position of Vocal Director for Garnet and Gold's production of the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie". She has been awarded the Mary Emerancy Pickard Music Scholarship recognizing Academic and Performance Excellence, the Robert Fleming Scholarship in Composition and the Mary T. Walshman Scholarship for Showing Most Promise for a Professional Career. She has been teaching piano for 12 years and voice for 9 years.

Amy Burridge - Piano
Hailing from Deer Lake, NL, Amy made the move to St. John's in 2006 to complete her Bachelor of Commerce (Co-op) degree through Memorial University. Don't let the career path lead you astray, she is a passionate musician. Amy began studying piano at the age of 4 and followed the Royal Conservatory of Music program. She completed the Grade 8 RCM in piano and Grade 2 Rudiments exams with honours. She has also participated in many Rotary Music Festivals. Amy has over 5 years of experience teaching piano and theory to a wide age range of students and is excited to now offer her skills and enthusiasm through The Music Collection.

Darryl Cremasco - Piano
Darryl Cremasco, a native of Guelph, Ontario, received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, where he studied piano performance with James Parker and Anya Alexeyev. Since moving to St. John's, Newfoundland in 2008 Darryl has accompanied the Philharmonic Choir of the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the MUN School of Music's Opera Road Show, and the choirs of Shallaway. In the summer of 2010 he collaborated with percussion duo River Connected in a performance for the 15th biennial Sound Symposium, featured on CBC Radio's The Signal. Darryl holds a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Memorial University and is currently the Music Director at St. Michael's Anglican Church.

Siobhan Donovan - Piano
Siobhan Donovan is an aspiring young musician who is currently pursuing Conservatory Canada Exams in Piano (Grade 9) and Voice (Grade 8). Siobhan is studying piano with Joan Woodrow and voice with Ronalda Hutton MacDonald. The Kiwanis Music Festival has been a spring ritual for many years and has provided some wonderful feedback from instructors and a variety of adjudicators. For the past 3 years Siobhan has received 5 Conservatory Canada Medals of Excellence for Piano (Grades 5 and 6), Voice (Grades 5 and 6) and Theory (Grade 3). Siobhan was honoured to perform as a wedding soloist and share her love of music. Siobhan has also attended the Opera on the Avalon festival for it�s first two seasons. Siobhan is an honours student who excels in her academic work and is active in extra-curricular activities. Siobhan is a member of the Holy Heart Chamber Choir and had the wonderful opportunity to perform at Carnagie Hall in May 2010. Beyond high school, Siobhan plans to pursue a degree in music.

Tiffanie George - Voice, Piano
Tiffanie George is currently majoring in voice at Memorial University's School of Music. She teaches voice and beginner piano. Tiffanie teaches many genres of music including Pop, Folk, Musical Theatre and Classical. She is an experienced performer and a former participant in various Kiwanis Music Festival classes. Tiffanie is delighted to have the opportunity to teach at the Music Collection.

Leslie Hewlett - Piano, Voice
Leslie Hewlett is an honours graduate from Memorial University's School of Music with a major in piano performance. She has completed her Grade 8 vocal examinations with the Conservatory of Canada and has sung in choirs for most of her life. She has been a member of Cantus Vocum Chamber Choir for the past 4 years and is the Director of Ultra Sound: The MUN Medical School Choir. Leslie also volunteers time to teach with the Heart of the City Piano Program, a program designed to provide musical education to under privileged children. Leslie has been teaching with The Music Collection since 2004.

Michelle LaCour - Piano

Andrea Moody - Piano
Andrea Moody has been playing the piano since the age of 3, and singing in school choirs since the age of 10. She is a student at Holy Heart of Mary High School, and an active member of the Holy Heart Concert and Chamber choirs, as well as the Girls and Madrigal choirs in the past. She has completed both her Grade 8 RCM in piano and Grade 2 Rudiments exams with honours. She has been teaching at the Music Collection since 2007.

Hilary Moores - Piano

Barbara Parsons - President of The Music Collection, Piano
Barbara co-founded The Music Collection in 1988 and has been responsible for its operation ever since. She graduated with B. Arts (Education) from Memorial and pursued her musical studies through The Trinity College of London, England. Involved in education for years, she is experienced in classroom teaching in the school system and has been teaching music privately for the past 30 years.

Debbie Parsons - VP of Operations, Piano, theory, and Kindermusik
Debbie has been with The Music Collection from the beginning. In 2000 she was responsible for the opening of The Dance Corner, a division of The Music Collection, to provide the customer with a large selection of bodywear, shoes and accessories for dance, skate, and gymnastics. As a piano and theory teacher Debbie offers over twenty years of experience. Her music studies were accomplished though the Royal Conservatory of Music. Many of her current and past students have also completed accreditation through the RCM as well. Debbie has taught students from the age of two to seniors. All ages and levels are welcome. Most recently Debbie completed training with Kindermusik International. Kindermusik is a music and movement program for young children. As a Licensed educator she is excited to now bring this new addition to the Music Collection Studios.

Alicia Power - Piano

Deanna Power - Piano
Deanna Power received her Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education from Memorial University, where she studied with Timothy Steeves. Deanna has always had a deep love of music and taught in her hometown of Placentia for 6 years before attending MUN's School of Music. She is a member of the CLB Regimental Band, where she plays flute and piccolo, and also is an associate conductor. Deanna has won numerous awards, including the TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership and the NLTA Music Special Interest Council Heather McDonald Memorial Scholarship. Deanna is a substitute teacher with the Eastern School District and plans to pursue a Masters degree in Education.

Melanie Redmond - Piano, Kindermusik
Melanie, native to Halifax Nova Scotia, completed her bachelor of music at Mount Allison in Sackville New Brunswick. Melanie taught private piano, group keyboard classes, theory and preschool music in Halifax for eight years before arriving here in Newfoundland and receiving a Masters of music in performance/pedagogy from Memorial University in 2009. Melanie has done numerous solo performances and collaborations with various singers and instrumentalists while at Mount Allison and Memorial. Recently Melanie had the privilege of giving a presentation on the piano music of composer Clifford Crawley and its pedagogical value. Melanie received training for teaching group keyboard classes from Anne Crosby, another notable Canadian composer, in Halifax and also had the opportunity to coordinate the preschool music program for the Canadian conservatory for two years. Melanie also had the wonderful opportunity of being a choral scholar this year with the senior children's chorus of Shallaway and the privilege of travelling to Paris, Amiens, Bruges and Amsterdam with the Camarata level of Shallaway on their Europe tour. Melanie is currently completing the music education as a second degree program here at Memorial University. Melanie has recently become a licensed kindermusik educator and is inspired and eager to begin the journey of learning with young people here at Music Collection through the amazing Kindermusik program.

Juile Sheppard - Piano
Julie holds a B. Mus from Memorial University where she studied piano with Dr. Maureen Volk and Tim Steeves. She offers over 8 years of teaching experience to students of all ages and musical interests. Julie also currently plays in a piano duo, is an active accompanist and volunteers her time to the Heart of the City Piano Program, a program designed to provide music education to under-privileged children.

Wade Tarling - Piano, Saxophone
Born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia, Wade Tarling started playing piano at a young age and has been crafting his art for over 20 years. He received his bachelor of music and diploma from the Capilano College Jazz program and has worked with some of Canada�s finest artists including Mike Allen, Ross Taggart, Stanley Karp and Chris Sigerson. Currently playing with the ViBE and the Dana Parsons Project, Wade�s versatility has made him sought after for both recording and live situations.

Yaying Tu - Piano
Yaying Tu is a graduate of the MUN music school. Yaying has studied piano since she was five years old. Also, she studied dance at the same time. She frequently won prizes for playing the piano when she was young such as 1st Place of Jingzhou Teenager's Piano Competition 1990, and 2nd Place of "New Bud Cup" Piano Competition in city of Jingzhou in 1989. While at university in China she studied Guzheng and Hu lu si as her second and third instruments, and she received her Bachelor of Music education in China. since coming to Newfoundland, Yaying has studied with Dr. Maureen Volk and has published two essays during her degree; "Difference of Piano Education for Kids between Canada and China", Proceeding of University Teachers' Publication (Hubei), 2005, and "Who is the Real Music Father in Baroque Period", Proceeding of University Teachers' Publication (Hubei), 2006. Yaying has over 12 years experience teaching piano.

Janna Whelan - Piano, Flute
A native of Corner Brook, Janna graduated from Memorial University's School of Music in 2008 with a Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Music History and Literature. While at Memorial, Janna studied piano with Maureen Volk and Jane Steele and was a member of several chamber music ensembles, as well as Memorial's Festival Choir and Concert Band. Janna continued her studies at Carleton University, where she graduated with a Master of Arts in Music and Culture in 2010. During her childhood, Janna frequently competed in the Corner Brook Rotary Music Festival and participated in both the Junior and Senior Rose Bowl competitions. Janna has completed her Grade 8 RCM examination in piano and Grade 2 Rudiments examination with honours and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at Memorial University.

Jessa Vokey - Piano

Yao Zhao - Piano