Dr. Robert Kania

Patience and lesson clarity

I began taking piano lessons with Dr. Kania after an absence from my music of more than a decade. Dr. Kania has helped me shape my music and develop my musicality. I have enjoyed working on pieces we have selected together while focusing on techniques to improve the tone and line of my music. He has many small exercises specifically designed to develop correct hand position and movement for tricky or difficult sections. He has helped me understand and improve how my hand and arm can move without tension, creating a richness of sound I had been searching for in my music. We have worked on technique, theory, musicality, and correct practicing of difficult passages during the course of my lessons, creating an integrated view of the musical work I am studying. Dr. Kania is a talented musician and conductor who also instills a deep and sincere appreciation for music in his students. I have found Dr. Kania to be professional and also very responsive to the needs of an adult student. I have enjoyed my lessons and am very satisfied with the music we have studied together. The resulting changes in the quality of my piano performance is dramatically noticeable to my friends and family who often listen to me play. He teaches with a level of care and depth of understanding I have never known in any previous instructor. I look forward to continuing my lessons with Dr. Kania. I feel I play more expressively and with joy since beginning my studies with him. I have recommended Dr. Kania and his unique approach to piano instruction to my friends.

I had a wonderful experience studying under Dr. Kania! I grew exponentially in my maturity as a performer and as an artist during that time. Between private study and public performance, Dr. Kania was never without some way to help me to improve. I went from never really performing to playing in national competitions and putting on my own private solo concert as well as being featured with the Judson orchestra with Chopins second piano concerto. I would recommend Dr. Kania to anyone at any level, you certainly wont regret the decision!

My teenaged daughter has been studying piano with Dr. Kania for about 3 years now. I have had children in music lessons for the past 25 years so at this point I know what to look for and am quite particular about making sure our time is well spent, especially when there is traveling involved. We researched, visited, and had trial lessons with about 6 teachers and didn’t feel any of the 6 were a good fit. I decided to ask a trusted friend (and professional musician) for a recommendation. She gave me one name only: Dr. Kania. Dr. Kania is not just a teacher but a very accomplished pianist as well. We have been to his concerts and have seen him perform. Absolutely amazing! We could not be happier with our choice. He is thorough and detailed, yet very pleasant and encouraging in manner. I wish we had known about Dr. Kania for my older children. I think anyone would be very fortunate to be able to study piano with him, although I know he also teaches in many other areas of music. I have found that it is difficult to find a teacher who meets all the requirements as students get more advanced with their piano skills. We feel fortunate to have found a great teacher at this point. Also, my daughter was recently working with another musician who graduated from the university where Dr. Kania is Dean; his name came up and this young graduate stated “Love that man!”. It was sweet to see the impact he had on his life long after graduation.