Ara Aghaz member of MTAC (Music Teachers Association of California) started playing piano when he was 5 years old. He is holding a bachelor’s degree in classical piano. 

 

Ara has given several recitals as a solo pianist, and has also taken part in many chamber music concerts. Ara has performed classical pieces -from renaissance to contemporary- at many places in the bay area and abroad. One of his notable performances was Goldberg Variations and duet for Piano & Cello sonata in G minor by J. S. Bach with the bay area cellist, Joanne de Mars at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Lafayette.  He has attended many master classes with world- renowned pianists, including Sergei Babayan, Emanuel Ax, Ann Schein, Leon Fleisher, etc.

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With more than 15 years of teaching experience, Ara truly enjoys working with students of different ages and levels. He has enough experience and credentials to teach all levels of Certificate of Merit (CM).

Ara believes that the key for making a student into a good musician is teaching them to love music. One important aspect of this is teaching the students to be a good listener. Ara strives to make his classes challenging, but at the same time he makes the students feel encouraged and have fun.

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When teaching piano, Ara aims to combine an understanding of music theory with performing beautiful music. He specially focuses on music theory and sight reading as this can help the students to learn a piece of music faster. When parents ask how to best prepare young students for band or chorus, Ara always recommends starting with piano lessons. Playing the piano opens the door to many other musical experiences and is a talent that can be enjoyed for the rest of one's life.

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In his free time, Ara enjoys working on challenging piano pieces, reading books, watching documentaries and spending time with his baby!