Lessons &
Master Classes

“a skilled inspirational teacher (…) a musician with very high standards and expectations which she communicates effectively in all venues.”

Philip Swanson, past director, School of Music, University of Redlands

Dominique Piana has taught at the University of Redlands from 1985 to 2001 and at La Sierra University in Riverside from 1982 to 2001. After moving from Southern California to the San Francisco Bay Area, she joined the faculty of Holy Names University in Oakland. All along, she has also taught privately in Claremont, Redlands, Pleasanton and now in Livermore. While studying harp at the Brussels Conservatory, she taught solfège classes (sight-singing and ear training) at local music academies.

Dominique has trained numerous harpists from 6-year old beginners to Master’s Degree students. Her musical knowledge and pedagogical insights have helped produce students who have won prestigious awards and who have gone on to become professional performers and teachers themselves.

Having grown up in Belgium under the influence of great teachers and performers of piano, her first instrument, Dominique immediately approached the harp from a practical and pedagogic point of view. Her main harp teachers were Lili Gryson, Francette Bartholomée, Frédérique Cambreling, Susann McDonald and JoAnn Turovsky. She also had some memorable sessions with Pierre Jamet in Paris, Artiss de Volt on St Simons Island in Georgia, and Mirella Vita in Milan. Additionally, she has explored many alternative music methods, from Yamaha to Suzuki, and Music and Movement to Life Energy in Music.

Given her own multi-cultural background (French and German), she became increasingly aware of the differences in harp schools, as still reflected in the old method books and the stylistic diversity of extant repertoire. She owns one of the largest collections of harp music in the country and works tirelessly to develop an awareness and appreciation for the richness of the harp literature. She has republished many classical and romantic works that had fallen out of print and out of use. Each worthy piece saved from oblivion becomes another lesson in musicianship…

There is so much to learn from the pedagogic approaches of the virtuosos of the past, from the 18th to 20th century. Who is to say what worked best? They were after something elusive, each in their own way, with varying concepts of idiomatic technique and beauty of sound, phrasing and musical ideas often related to the spirit of their time.

Dominique likes to impart the passion and inner discipline that underlie the true mastery of an instrument. From the beginning, her students are encouraged to approach harp playing as a vital act of artistry. Something that is reachable at any level of proficiency!

“As a teacher of harp, Ms. Piana has maintained a large studio, and is well appreciated by her students. She has a thorough mastery of the instrument and of its playing lore. This is combined with refined musicianship and tastefulness. Her devotion to the instrument is passed along to her students who are amongst the most serious and involved of our music students.”
Alexandra Pierce, Phd., Professor of Music Emeritus, University of Redlands

For more information on private lessons, contact Dominique.