Piano Teacher Tunes into Classical and Current Music

Playing, composing, recording, exploring.

Piano teacher Rita Rowe hopes to offer it all at Studio 88, a longtime dream she opened in Aliso Viejo last month as “a place for music instruction, recording, rehearsals and workshops."

“I want to provide my students with the skill of classical technique while having access to many aspects of music, including familiarity with various genres of music, composing, improvisation and playing music of today,” she said.

Rowe realizes her students enjoy music more when they can play what they like. “When my students -- children and adults -- add a song they’re really interested in, their whole world comes alive,” she said.

Rowe learned to appreciate music at an early age. “My dad made it really fun for us,” she said. “He was always playing jazz tunes.”

Rowe’s piano teacher, Akiko Hasunuma, was also a big influence. “She was very disciplined, but she had the most kind heart,” Rowe said. “Even if I didn’t want to practice for myself, I wanted to practice for her.”

Hasunuma was Rowe’s piano teacher until she went to college. In 2006, Rowe graduated from UC Irvine with a music degree. In 2007, Rowe started teaching private piano lessons and holding recitals at the Laguna Hills Community Center.

Rowe said she was inspired by the workshops and casual performances that Hasunuma held and wants Studio 88 to offer “a comfortable space where people can get used to performing, so it doesn’t feel like such a scary thing.”

In 2008, Rowe became a member of the Music Teachers Association of California. MTAC sponsors a music study program called Certificate of Merit (CM) testing, which Rowe offers her students.

The CM Program, started in 1933, now involves about 30,000 students throughout the state each year. CM testing helps students strive for musical excellence by involving elements of performance, technique, ear training, sight reading and written theory tests.

“It’s rigorous,” Rowe said, but more than 25 of her students have applied for the test and all passed. “We have a discussion before we get into it,” she said. “They prepare so much that I trust that they’ll pass, and they can tell me if they don’t like a song. I’m really into communication.”

To learn more about Studio 88, visit www.studio88oc.com