"Jacqueline is an amazing teacher! She is kind, patient, and very encouraging and supportive. ... "
"Her knowledge of the instrument, its technical requirements and music genre is far-reaching ... "
"Piano is a joy and learning it with Ms. Ryz makes it even better. ... "
Welcome to my website, presenting my piano studio in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I maintain a busy schedule giving one-on-one piano lessons to students of all levels throughout the year, but I can always find time for new students who are enthusiastic about music and sincerely committed to learning to play the piano well.
Noteworthy News
Parents - Be sure to go over the updated Covid-19 Protocol page thoroughly with your youngsters. If you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to get in touch with me and please check this website weekly for any updates
Live, in person! North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church is booked for the Winter Recital, Wednesday, December 15. First recital starts at 7 PM; second recital starts at 8 PM. All participants and attendees must wear masks and observe social distancing between households.
Winter break! Last day of lessons this year will be Friday, December 17. Lessons will resume Monday, January 3. Happy Holidays everyone!
Congratulations to Chloe who recently earned first class honours with distinction for her Grade 7 Royal Conservatory of Music exam taken over Zoom!
Distinctive Exam Results -and four gold medals!
Congratulations to Nika who earned a gold medal for the highest mark in Manitoba during the 2020-21 academic year for her Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) examination.
Congratulations also to Siwon and to Hannah who both earned first class honours with distinction for their Grade 9 Royal Conservatory of Music exams and to Victoria and Andy who also earned first class honours with distinction for their Grade 8 RCM exams, as well as to Micah and Alexus who both earned first class honours with distinction for their Grade 6 RCM exams. All these exams were conducted over Zoom!
The marks for Hannah, Victoria and Alexus were also the highest in the province this year, so they, along with Nika, will be recognized in a gold medal ceremony conducted over Zoom later this fall.
Provincial Music Festival Results
Congratulations to Victoria, Alexus and Micah who all represented the Winnipeg Festival in the Manitoba Provincial Festival this past May. Victoria placed first in intermediate piano and also won the Canadian Composers class at that level. Alexus placed first in junior piano, and Micah was runner up in junior piano Canadian Composers class.
Winnipeg Music Festival Results
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Congratulations to Victoria who won the Manitoba Music Teachers' Association trophy awarded to the most outstanding instrumentalist in Grade 8. This is the third year in a row Victoria has been recognized as the top instrumentalist in her grade. She earned the right to compete for this trophy by winning the Sonatina, French composers and Canadian composers classes. Victoria also won the Grade 8 Concerto class.
Congratulations also to Alexus who won Sonatina and Canadian composers classes in Grade 6, and to Micah who won the 20th/21st Century and Baroque classes in that same grade. Alexus was runner-up for the Institute of Chartered Piano Tuners of Manitoba trophy awarded to the most outstanding instrumentalist in Grade 6; Micah was awarded the Madge O. Stevens bursary. |
Congratulations as well to Seanne who won the 20th/21st Century class at the Diploma level, and was runner up in four other classes - Canadian composers, Sonata, Early Romantic, and the Concerto class.
Also well deserving of commendation, Andy was runner up in the Grade 8 baroque class, and Sean was runner up in the Grade 7 sonata class.
This year's festival was conducted entirely through video submission.
Congratulations to Micah and to Andy who placed first in their respective categories (Grade 5/6 and Grade 7/8) of the recent Manitoba Registered Music Teachers Association (MRMTA) scholarship competition, as well as to Seanne who was runner up in the ARCT / Advanced category of that same competition. This year the competition was conducted by video submission.
Micah was interviewed by local radio station Classic 107 in conjunction with her win.
Congratulations to Hannah who was accepted with scholarship for first year studies at the Desautels Faculty of Music at University of Manitoba. And Seanne was recently accepted for the Eastman Experience; Summer Classical Studies program at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.
And congratulations to Seanne who earned his Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) diploma this winter. Here are two selections from his ARCT program:
Beethoven Piano Sonato No.21 in C Major, Op.53 "Waldstein" (first movement)
In Memoriam to the Victims of Chernobyl by Larysa Kuzmenko
Seanne was recently interviewed on local radio station Classic 107 in conjunction with his performance as the featured young artist on the Virtuosi Concerts live-streamed program Friday evening, January 22 at 7:30 p.m.
| Congratulations to longtime student Nika who earned her Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) diploma with first class honours with distinction this August.
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| Nika's mark for her ARCT exam was the highest in Manitoba this year! She will receive a gold medal to recognize this achievement in a ceremony later this fall. | |
| Here are links to Nika performing two elements of her ARCT program: Chopin Nocturne in D flat major, Op.27, No.2, and Oiseaux Tristes from Miroirs by Maurice Ravel. | |
And congratulations to Lauren and Raymond who earned their Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto (ARCT) diplomas with first class honours this spring.
Their achievements are the culmination of years of dedicated hard work, and final preparation since March, 2020 involved remote lessons only - many hours of online instruction and communication about their YouTube videos that had to be submitted to the Conservatory for assessment in June. This is a huge accomplishment under challenging circumstances and they are to be commended wholeheartedly!
Here's a link to Raymond performing the three Gershwin Preludes, an element of his ARCT program.
Here are links to Lauren performing two elements of her ARCT program:
Beethoven Piano Sonata No.14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 "Moonlight" (third movement) and Allegro Barbaro by Bela Bartok.
I was thrilled and honoured to receive a "Teacher of Distinction" award from the Royal Conservatory for 2019. Thank you very much to everyone who supported my nomination.
Winnipeg Music Festival 2020 Results! Two trophies again!
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Hearty congratulations to Victoria who was awarded the Swedish Musical Club trophy for the most outstanding performance of a Grade 7 instrumentalist. She earned the opportunity to compete for this trophy by placing first in both the Sonatina and Baroque classes; she was also runner up in the Canadian Composers and 20th/21st Century classes and tied for runner up in the Romantic class. Here's a link to Victoria's winning performance of the first movement of Sonatina in A Minor Op. 88, No. 3 by Friedrich Kuhlau. This is the second year in a row that Victoria has been recognized for the outstanding performance in her grade level. |
And hearty congratulations as well to Micah who was awarded the Quest Musique Trophy for the most outstanding instrumental performance in Grade 5. Micah earned the opportunity to compete for this trophy by placing first in both the Canadian Composers and Sonatina classes; she was also runner up in the Baroque and 20th/21st Century Composers classes. Here's a link to Micah's winning performance of the first movement of Sonatina in C Major Op.157, No.4 by Fritz Spindler. In that same grade, Alexus placed first in both the Baroque and 20th/21st Century classes and was also runner up in the Canadian Composers class. And Chloe tied with Micah as runner up in the 20th/21st Century class. |
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Congratulations as well to Ray who won the Diploma level 20th/21st Century class and thereby qualified to compete for the Aikins Memorial Trophy, emblematic of the top instrumentalist of the entire festival. Also at the Diploma level, Lauren was runner up in the 20th/21st Century class and Seanne was runner up in the Classical Sonata class.
In the midst of his Festival participation, Seanne performed as the featured Young Artist at the Virtuosi Concert, March 8 in Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall at The University of Winnipeg.
Six (6) gold medalists!!!!!!
Congratulations to Elise, Alexus, Emily, Victoria, Hannah and Seanne who each received a gold medal for earning the highest mark in Manitoba for their respective Grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 Royal Conservatory examinations during the 2018-19 exam year! They received their medals at the RCM Celebration of Excellence event on November 23 in the Winnipeg Art Gallery.
Another international competition success!
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Congratulations to Seanne who placed first in his age category (11-14) in the concerto competition at the 2019 Philadelphia International Music Camp & Festival in June. Seanne played the Greig Concerto with which he had won the John Melnyk trophy and bursary for best performance of a piano concerto in the Winnipeg Music Festival. In August, Seanne attended the Minnesota International Piano Camp in Minneapolis where he had the opportunity to perform the Grieg Concerto with orchestra! |
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Jacqueline Ryz is a gifted pianist and teacher whose passion for music inspires audiences and students alike. Her professionalism, skilled teaching and approachability allows for her to develop pianists of a very high standard. I highly recommend her as a teacher for beginners as well as students who are already established pianists. Jacqueline's motivational teaching style has inspired my sons to practice and develop an excellent work ethic; they quickly developed into fine young pianists. - Carol L Ridd |
Noteworthy Links
Here's a link to a charming reflection by Jeremy Denk in the New Yorker Magazine on the sometimes humourous trials and tribulations of piano lessons and the impact of two special teachers on his musical development.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/04/video-jeremy-denks-piano-lessons.html?mobify=0
Here's a link to a new digital resource for music study which came to my attention through the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers Association conference in Vancouver, summer of 2015 - the ABRSM Aural Trainer app at http://www.dreammusictool.ca/abrsm-aural-trainer which can very helpful for ear training.