Portland Area Piano Teachers

Amanda Habner

Voice and piano teacher Amanda Habner has been teaching for over a decade. She began teaching piano at age 15 and discovered her love for teaching. Amanda knew that her true passion was singing, so she pursued a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, which she received spring of 2014. She followed that degree with a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy (the study of teaching) from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ.A native of Washington State, Amanda decided to return to the west coast upon finishing her studies to begin eagerly teaching music.

Amanda loves to work with all ages and levels. Her teaching philosophy includes building trust between the teacher and student, honing musical and technical aspects of piano and singing, stressing the health of the student, use of appropriate repertoire and learning techniques, emboldening students to perform, create personal opportunities, and becoming self learners, and finally having fun.

Jeff Kuhns

Jeff is a multi-instrumentalist. He teaches guitar, piano, voice, and bassoon. Jeff has 15+ years of teaching experience. He studied classical guitar, classical piano, opera, and botany at Central Michigan University. Jeff played principal bassoon in the Eastern Michigan University honors band as well as with the Oakland Youth Orchestra. He has recorded two albums professionally and regularly composes new music. 

Jeff considers his teaching style to be relaxed, dynamic, and adaptive. He caters each lesson to the individual student's interests, ability, and learning style. Jeff believes learning and playing music should be an enjoyable experience if not among your favorite activities. Jeff accepts any student from beginner to advanced with interests in any genre. Jeff will challenge you as much as you would like to be challenged.

Malderine Birmingham

Malderine loves teaching all styles of music to all ages and types of people.  Everyone learns differently and she finds creative ways to make sure the student not only understands the concepts of music but has fun learning it.  Playing music and singing are fun and practicing should be fun as well!  She believes that music helps us grow as individuals and that sometimes all we need is a little encouragement to blossom into our full potential.  She teaches piano, voice and guitar.

Malderine is a multi-instrumentalist singer, composer and songwriter.  She studied piano and voice at Wright State University and has continued studying with various professors and professionals in the music industry ever since.  She has composed, recorded and produced 7 albums and directed numerous music videos. She has performed in orchestras, choirs, bands and a musical. She also regularly performs live in music venues in the Hillsboro/Portland area. 

Will Nichols

Will is a Portland-based pianist and new sitarist, studying music at Lewis & Clark College, set to graduate in the Fall of 2018.  He specializes in the theory, performance, and musicology of the Romantic Era.  However, his musical interests are far-reaching, and he enjoys teaching rock and pop piano, as well.  While still young, he’s eager to prove himself and learn with his students.

Will’s teaching philosophy centers around developing a deep love and understanding of music, giving his students the tools to critically engage with the music they play and experience in everyday life.  While he chooses to tailor each lesson to individual students, he hopes to help deepen their understanding of what they play beyond learning the notes on the page.  He believes this is best achieved by tying what students are learning in lessons to the music that made them want to play to begin with. 

Jeffrey Shapiro

Jeffrey Shapiro has been studying and performing music for nearly 20 years.  After teaching himself how to play the guitar in high-school he decided to pursue a formal music education at the college level, obtaining a Master’s Degree in Music Pedagogy and Performance.  While living in Texas Jeffrey began teaching music at a school run by the Salvation Army before opening his own teaching studio in Dallas for students of all ages.  He is a very patient teacher and can teach several instruments and multiple styles of music.  Jeffrey regularly creates his own teaching materials in addition to utilizing several established methods.

On top of being a private lesson instructor, Jeffrey has performed regularly around the DFW metroplex with solo artists and multiple bands.  He eventually accepted a position as the lead guitarist with the One Voice Choir in Dallas.  During this time he also began recording guitar tracks for many artists in Dallas, and getting more aquatinted with the process of recording music.

Jeffrey and his wife Carol decided to move to Portland in 2017 to experience a wonderful part of the country that they were only slightly familiar with.  Jeffrey has already begun teaching students around Portland and is a regular fixture in the live music community.  He is currently recording original material and helping others to do the same in his home studio.

Allison Frazier

Allison Frazier is a Portland area flutist with over 25 years of experience performing and teaching music. She currently teaches private lessons and classes in flute, piano, recorder, beginner piano, and general music at Portland Metro Arts. In addition, she performs with the Oregon Sinfonietta, the Clark College Orchestra, the Oregon Mahler Festival, and appears periodically with the Rose City Flute Choir. Allison has also appeared with the Light Opera of Portland and the Portland Civic Orchestra.

Allison received her Bachelor of Music and Texas Educator Certificate from Texas State University in San Marcos. She expanded her musical knowledge at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and received her Master of Music with a concentration in theory and composition. Her former private instructors include Dr. Adah Toland Jones at Texas State and Dr. Andrea Kapell Loewy at the University of Louisiana, and she has studied jazz with Willie Matheis in Portland.

Allison is the classical specialist in the music program for Housecall Providers, a non-profit organization where she volunteers her time to bring recorded music to patients in home hospice. She is attending Pacific University in Forest Grove, pursuing music therapy.

Madeline Schmidt

Madeline is a multi-faceted musician who has spent the last 12 years developing her skills in both the art of singing and playing piano. She pursued higher education at Westminster Choir College where she trained for two years as a Music Education major. After transferring to a smaller program in New York on scholarship, she was awarded a B.A. in Music focused in Vocal Performance. After attaining her degree from The College of Saint Rose, she moved to Portland with the hope of pursuing work with the Portland Symphony Choir and Portland Opera. 

Throughout her schooling, Madeline honed in on her craft and developed skills in music theory, diction, collaborative piano and choral conducting. She considers herself especially equipped in all matters pertaining to educational philosophy and vocal pedagogy. Madeline has performed in masterclasses, given a number of recitals and has an extensive background in choral singing. While her training is in classical music, Madeline is willing and able to teach healthy technique to students hoping to perform any genre of music. 

Madeline's philosophy is that the most touching musical experiences are those that bring deep joy to the performer. In order to lose one's self in music, the student must feel personally connected to the piece; for this reason, self-selection plays a significant role. Madeline is passionate about establishing an open dialogue with her students so that she can better equip them with the skills they seek to attain and teach the repertoire they wish to perform. Madeline is also thrilled to challenge students with more complex pieces as they progress. Ultimately, making music is an emotive process. Madeline is, first and foremost, concerned with creating a safe environment for her students where they feel accepted and completely free to be themselves. 

David Rosman

David is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in guitar, piano, drums, bass and violin instruction. He accepts students of all ages and skill levels. David has professionally recorded over ten albums and toured nationally with diverse groups ranging from jazz and rock to techno and heavy metal. He has also worked extensively as a live sound and mastering engineer. 

As passionately as he has explored all aspects of sound and music, he is equally committed to developing a highly impactful teaching style. With an emphasis on personal growth and self-discovery, David attempts to empower each student to carve out their own musical journey and push themselves to grow physically, emotionally and cognitively.