| BLACKHEATH PIANO STUDIO |
| Natalie Tsaldarakis and Panayotis Archontides have extensive experience as piano teachers, clinicians and examiners. Though they have worked with very advanced levels, their studio in London welcomes all ages and levels. Natalie has worked for 8 years with children from ages 6 and up, at various well-known conservatories of music including the National Conservatory of Greece, and with adults for a bit over a decade at the American College of Greece (Deree College). At Deree, Natalie also taught undergraduate courses in theory (theory and musicianship, harmonic and contrapuntal analysis), as well as in history of music and music appreciation. With beginners and young learners, Natalie is careful to keep the initial enthusiasm while at the same time trying to impart a need for structure and progress. Her more advanced students benefit from her experience of Alexander Technique, which she first encountered in the US while she was studying for the MM in piano performance. Natalie has also done extensive research into the educational psychology of music and aspects of musical talent as a developmental characteristic (publication forthcoming). Panayotis has worked as piano professor and instructor of ttheoretical studies (harmony, counterpoint, fugue, ear-training, music history, form and analysis) for almost a decade at various conservatories of music including the National Conservatory of Greece. He was also music teacher, accompanist and choral director of the 100-member Pierce College Choir, at the American College of Greece (Pierce College). His classes at Pierce dealt with general musicianship, music appreciation and film music. Currently Panayotis is employed as piano tutor at Wandsworth Music Service (London) and is active also as an accompanist, often employed by students of Trinity College of Music for exams, auditions and recitals. In 2002 Natalie and Panayotis founded the Athens Institute of Music (A.I.M.) online, a three-year long experiment in online graduate music education in Greece. A.I.M. was a non-profit institution trying to bridge the gap between the Greek music conservatory degrees and the demands of an academic degree (i.e. Master' or PhD), while also servine a variety of other music students worldwide. Their last student to ever graduate from A.I.M. was accepted and is currently studying at SOAS- University of London for the MMus in Ethnomusicology. Their diverse teaching experiences has made them flexible in their approach to a variety of ages and levels and are always happy to interview prospective students. As an experienced piano duo they are also available for clinics and masterclasses in chamber music. |