Teaching

Masterclasses and Clinics:

July till September, 2008 Summer Chamber Music Workshops. Any combination of two or more instrumentalists,including four hands piano, two pianos, and singers. please call Myriam at 703-426-4138 or email [email protected]

A Masterclass by Myriam Avalos is a total fulfilling experience for students. They are guided with love, gentleness and firmness through the aspects of musical technique and expressiveness. She does patient detailed work, caring for a complete understanding of her teachings by the students. Her remarks translate intensiveness, enthusiasm and love for music. Knowledge of soloist related fields, such as chamber music, is of great support for her lessons. Students are inspired to continue working on what has been taught. A wonderful experience.
Lydia Hung Wong, Directora General Conservatorio Nacional de Musica

Myriam Avalos’s Master Class at the Virginia Music Teachers Association Fall Conference in 2001 was remarkable. Her intense enthusiasm and carefully chosen words brought about dramatic results. By suggesting to the student that she “paint with a brush on her wrist” she effectively conveyed a new understanding of exactly how to shape a phrase. Three years later students and teachers alike recall her vivid images.
Martha Smith, NCTM – Past Pressident Virginia Music Teachers Association; Past President Northern Virginia Music Teachers Associaiton.

A Masterclass by Myriam Avalos is truly a remarkable experience for the students. They are guided with respect, love, and gentleness. She has magical ears that seem to hear everything and then, is able to translate the technical and musical concepts into words which the student captures instantly. I enjoyed her work with my students tremendously and the young artists walked away with love and a smile of happiness.
Rosita Mang, NCTM – Past President Washington Music Associaiton, Panelist, Lecturer and Clinician

Myriam Avalos has conducted master classes and coached chamber groups for my studio. In each case, Ms. Avalos gave specific, efficacious comments that raised the playing level of my students. In only one session with my chamber group, she understood the group dynamics and personalities involved and made astute suggestions which created a beautiful sound. Her comments were always kindly and constructive.
Belinda Stevens, NCTM
Independent Piano Teacher

I think that your teaching is a wonderful blend of approaches including clarity, tranquillity and an unspoken respect for the passages that are yet not mastered by the pupil. I am forever grateful for having met such a skilled and talented teacher. From now on and for a long time to come my way of practising has changed.
Daniel Labb, pianist and composer
Skövde, Sweden

Previous Performances And Master Classes and Clinics

US Department-sponsored Master Classes in China, Hong Kong and Japan

October 2001: Master Class at the VMTA Convention

January 2002: Master Class at the Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association

April 2003: Master Class at the Loudon Music teachers Association

August 2004: Master Class at the Conservatorio nacional de Musica de Lima, Peru

-Javier Caballero, Executive Director, Apple Hill Center For Chamber Music

For many years, she has cultivated a studio of devoted piano students who personify her enthusiasm for playing music and her love for learning. I highly recommend Myriam as a nurturing and caring teacher, chamber coach, and performing artist.

-Martha Smith, NCTM - Past President Virginia Music Teachers Association; Past President Northern Virginia Music Teachers Association.

Myriam Avalos’s Master Class at the Virginia Music Teachers Association Fall Conference in 2001 was remarkable. Her intense enthusiasm and carefully chosen words brought about dramatic results. By suggesting to the student that she “paint with a brush on her wrist” she effectively conveyed a new understanding of exactly how to shape a phrase. Three years later students and teachers alike recall her vivid images.

-Lydia Hung Wong, Directora General Conservatorio Nacional de Musica

A Masterclass by Myriam Avalos is a totally fulfilling experience for students. They are guided with love, gentleness and firmness through the aspects of musical technique and expressiveness. She does patient detailed work, caring for a complete understanding of her teachings by the students. Her remarks translate intensiveness, enthusiasm and love for music. Knowledge of soloist related fields, such as chamber music, is of great support for her lessons. Students are inspired to continue working on what has been taught. A wonderful experience.

-Daniel Labb, pianist and composer Skövde, Sweden

-Rosita Mang, NCTM - Past President Washington Music Associaiton, Panelist, Lecturer and Clinician

-Belinda Stevens, NCTM Independent Piano Teacher

-Robert Rose, Former Student

Mrs. Teie was one of the most important influences on my life as I was growing up. For nearly 10 years I sat with her on a weekly basis for piano lessons. These were formidable years in my life. It was here that I learned to work hard, practice at something I couldn't get right the first time, visualize success, respect myself and others, and most importantly, to love music. Mrs. Teie shaped the person I am today, and I will always be incredibly grateful that I was lucky enough to have her as a teacher.

-Adrian Higgins, Former Student

When you first study the piano with Myriam, you think that she is a vital (not to mention, exotic) musical genius -- and she is -- but in time you come to understand that the dynamo sitting next to you at the keyboard is powered not just by passion and innate talent but by a keen intellect and by an incredible drive. This is why it has never burned out. To the student comes the realization that there is no artistry without technique. For a while I came to think that Myriam simply had created a perfect equilibrium between these two forces. Eventually, you understand that they are not a duality but a whole. One cannot exist alone. Myriam teaches you this. This integration is symbolic of Myriam herself. She is someone with a huge heart, she sees goodness and kindness and suffering in people, and she responds with empathy and charity. I do not believe that her love of music and her love of people are separate. Her music and her humanity are of a piece. Those of us who count her as a friend know, deeply, that Myriam has enriched our lives.

-Bonnie Gracer, Former Student

During our first meeting, to see if we would study together, Myriam asked me to play her a scale. I said, “I don’t know how.” Then she said, “Well play me anything”, to which I again said, “I don’t know how.” She then said, “Okay, play any key on the piano, so I can hear how you sound.” That is where we started. By the end of that hour she had me playing Bach – yes, really. She transcribed (from memory) the notes on the piano score into English letters, and I followed along. All week I practiced this beautiful music and by our next meeting I was hooked – by the music, of course, but also by Myriam’s ingenuity, warmth, and gentle nature.