Biography:

Irene Jordan was born in Taiwan and started her music development learning piano and classical guitar. Throughout the years of education and Nokia employment, she continued to take guitar and piano lessons. Later volunteering as a piano accompanist at a nursing home helped her realize the joy of pursuing what one loves, and the fulfillment of sharing the joy of music with others. She continued her music pursuits at Texas Woman’s University as a Liberal Arts student, with a music concentration in piano as the principle instrument and piano pedagogy track. She has studied and taken lessons under Dr. Richard Shuster, Dr. Christopher Madden and Dr. Camille Fu. Each has been instrumental in developing her musicality and practice mindset, as well as superior piano pedagogy concepts. She had a lot of fun studying articulations work with Dmitri Kabalevesky’s composition. It brought great awareness of how a piece of music comes to life when the textures are properly delivered. She has also found joy teaching and sharing music with students of all ages to help them build a strong foundation in piano playing and music appreciation. She continues to stay connected with the artist and teaching communities. She has taken multiple piano pedagogy lessons from senior piano pedagogues from The Frances Clark Center and Piano Foundation Formula with Carmen Morin, a Canadian pianist and pedagogue. She is also a big fan of the Tonebase online music group. At home she shares her music loving interest with her daughters who are playing French horn and violin and being active in band and orchestra. She is proud that her daughter playing French horn is entering Texas Tech University this year as a music education major.

Philosophy

I believe in a student-centered approach involving a well-sequenced and coherent pedagogical method focused on balanced development of musicality and technique. I recognize that while the goals of obtaining skills and musicianship are the same, students may need a different pace and repertoire based on their goals and learning style. I help students develop healthy practice habits with a growth mindset.  The process of learning an instrument can help nurture skills applicable to different aspects of life, e.g. become sensitive to identify problems and solving them in a manageable chunks.  I would be most pleased as a piano teacher when I observe my students become progressively independent pianists with expanding interest in music and sharing it.