TEACHING
Olga shares the secrets, collected from her entire learning journey, with her students. Her lessons are designed individually to be engaging, absorbing, progressive and creative.
“I understand how important the teacher is for a person learning an instrument. Success can begin right there.”
Olga knows a trick or two about how to turn performance nerves into self-belief energy. She’s taken part in many competitions on her way to a full and colourful career playing concerts at major venues, as well as chamber and solo performances around the world.
Born in Ukraine, now based in London, Olga enjoys sharing her performance and practice secrets to help budding musicians achieve the very best for themselves.
“Early experience and repetition of performance is vital. We should take every performance opportunity, monthly or termly, to develop our stage skills and confidence. My goal as a teacher is to ensure my pupils perform as much as possible.”
Through school and conservatoires of Kiev and Manchester (RNCM), her degrees and PhD, Olga’s string of teachers inspired her to adjust her professional language and approach to the ability and age of students. She is blessed with perception, empathy and understanding. Now teaching is her parallel passion alongside performing.
These shape how she develops her students’ attitude, perception and ability, and programme preparations for their attempts on their differing goals – whether playing purely for pleasure, or tackling the challenges of exams, performance in competitions, or taking part in masterclasses.
She knows that each person carries the music within themselves, and that they have chosen the piano to be their voice.
“My first teacher Natalia Bespalova took me, age 5, into the world of music in such a way that I knew it would be my life. I hope to enable the children I teach to experience the same captivation.”
Using a variety of expressive teaching methods, Olga encourages her pupil’s own ideas and musical personalities through games, telling stories about composers and listening to different interpretations of pieces of their music.
For exam preparation to small group recitals and concert preparation, Olga knows how to turn performance anxiety into the right energy to get the best out of every moment. Her students get to know the theory side of music, often without realising that they’re learning it!
It doesn’t matter if lessons are for purely personal pleasure or for a professional path. Olga helps people to fine-tune both technically and creatively at their own pace. She takes the time and care to understand the individual to unlock their full potential – and remove the psychological barriers to success.
Her student successes include high grades in ABRSM and GCSEs, musical scholarships and top prizes in competitions for young musicians.
