LOOKING FORWARD TO 2018
At the start of a new year, I’m feeling very thankful for the wonderful teaching experiences and all my lovely students during 2017.
This was was the first full year of teaching in Melbourne, having taught for 12 years in Hong Kong and previously in Brisbane.
In a word, I loved it. Melbourne as a city is laid back, charming and with an appreciation of arts and culture and the last year turned out even more rewarding than I had expected.
With my younger students, nothing makes me much happier than to see them starting the first appreciation of music and picking up first skills, including playing pieces for their parents and family. I’m lucky enough to have many very cute kids who bring a great spirit to learning and a smile to my face.
And it’s also been very rewarding to work with adult students, several of them who are learning for the very first time in their lives. Seeing them being able to learn from zero and achieve their goals, be it performing for friends, or their partners is very satisfying.
Here’s a little summary of the year:
Number of students taught: 45 (piano and singing)
Countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, South Korea
Age of students: from 3.5 years old to 60s
Most stressful situation: 4 wild little toddlers scrambling to different corners of my studio and one baby trying to eat a suitcase! Luckily I caught him in time...I think!
Second most stressful situation: learning to drive and navigating 3 times in a row around the same street to find a new student’s home (while the mom watched in amazement!). Thankfully my driving skills have improved a bit since then.
Most unexpected surprise: receiving some very thoughtful and cute Xmas presents - thanks guys!
Most involved family: started teaching the 7 year old and his 10 year old followed, and then even later their dad got involved and started learning, and the mum plans to join in the family “tradition” and begin in this new year - talk about teamwork!
Overall I definitely achieved my personal goal to kickstart my piano and singing studio in Melbourne and get an ongoing group of great students
For this year I’m excited to continue seeing them progress and help new students, as well as take on some new initiatives, including organizing performances and some special duets.
Thank you all for your warm support and let’s enjoy the music together this year!
Grace Newstead is a qualified piano teacher based in South Yarra, tutoring in English, Cantonese or Mandarin. To get in touch please click
