Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanya Northcutt.
Tanya, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing piano when I was six years old. Growing up in church, my life was saturated with music. I would compete in school competitions, accompany during church services, and perform regularly for my school. Music became an essential part of my everyday life. When I was fifteen, I began teaching piano as an employee of Sumner’s Music. I was never serious about music until one summer, I was a last-minute entry in a piano competition. I really didn’t want to compete, but I did it for the sake of representing the group I came with. I ended up winning first place. After that competition, it completely changed my outlook on music. I made the decision that I wanted to use my music to glorify my Saviour. He gave me this talent for a reason, and I wanted to fulfill the purpose that God has for my life.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Losing students is always devastating for me. When COVID-19 struck, I lost a pretty significant amount of students due to quarantine. I was very concerned about teaching virtually. It was very challenging at first.I had to change the way I taught. I wasn’t able to give stickers or prizes. There were even problems with the Internet connection so the video or audio would freeze. The worst part is no one knew how long quarantine was going to last, and I didn’t know when I would get to see any of my students again. Thankfully, there was a silver lining. We were able to rent an amazing music studio at a very reasonable price! We just had an open house last weekend, and several students came to visit with their families! This was the first time I’ve seen my students in months! I’m so excited about this new space. It’s in a perfect location, plenty of parking spots and shops nearby!
Lessons With Tanya – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a piano teacher as well as a part-time music teacher for a private school in National City. I think it’s vital for students to have the right mentality when it comes to being a musician. Being a great musician shouldn’t be this impossible and unattainable aspiration. It’s a goal we‘re going to take steps towards every day. Every time you practice, you’re taking one step closer to that goal. If someone like me can make it to that Steinway piano in Carnegie hall, I want my students to know that they can achieve the impossible.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I had the amazing opportunity to travel on an all-inclusive trip to New York as an accompanist in Carnegie Hall. It was an unbelievable experience! To this day, I still can’t believe that I was chosen! I have to say that experience, as amazing as it was, still holds second place to watching my students perform. There’s a very unique and special feeling when a student goes up and plays a song they once thought they’d never be able to play. There were moments during a lesson, I had to back away behind them because of the tears in my eyes that I don’t want them to see. They were tears of joy, of course, because I’m so proud of them and all the hard work they put into their music. My students are my pride and joy, and I love them so much!
Pricing:
- Private Piano Lessons – $15 for 30 minutes
- Music Classes – $30 an hour
- Vocal Techniques
- Introduction to Recorder
- Introduction to Ukulele
- Introduction to Percussion
Contact Info:
- Address: 1680 Metro Avenue
- Phone: 619-431-1348
- Email: lessonswithtanya@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/lessonswithtanya
- Facebook: Facebook.com/lessonswithtanya
- Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/lessons-with-tanya-chula-vista
- Other: https://youtu.be/Eiot3ENf7z0
Image Credit:
Kris Sagana
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