Wendelken Piano Studio
New Tampa’s Premier Piano Studio Makes Noteworthy Music
2007 - 2008 Academic Year
New Tampa’s Wendelken Piano Studio completed an impressive academic year of achievement adding dozens of awards and honors to its accomplishments.
"This has been a year of exceptional accomplishment for our studio. Our students, ages 6 through adult, participated in and won awards in a larger number of competitions, recitals, examinations and outreaches than ever before. We are very excited about the quality of music our students are achieving,” said Mary Wendelken, Director and teacher at Wendelken Piano Studio.
Highlights of New Tampa’s premier piano studio include four First Place State winners in Piano, Difficult level, National Federation of Music Clubs: John Park, Evelyn Qi, Alex Krajcevska and Leonie Barkakati, all students of Mary Wendelken. Second Place winner in Piano Solo, E3: Brian Carpio, student of teacher Natalya Kushnir, with Wendelken Piano Studio.
"We also had two winners from over a thousand state participants in the Music Composition division of the Florida Schools Reflections Competition. Using music theory and piano performance skills to compose and perform original pieces, Samhitha Gudla was one of only 20 who received a Merit Award at the State Competition, and Miranda Scott, student of Kathy Wendelken, placed second in Hillsborough County division with her composition,” Wendelken noted.
At the State Competition for Christian Colleges and Schools, students Joshua and Justin Zloty placed first and second in Music Performance respectively.
In addition to many local, state and national affiliations, Wendelken Piano Studio is Tampa Bay’s host to the Regional Examinations for Toronto’s prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music. As a Royal Conservatory host and affiliate school, Wendelken Piano Studio is influential in raising the standard of classical music in Tampa by training each music student in the traditional, conservatory manner.
Students of the New Tampa based studio come from all over the Tampa Bay area, as it is the only school in Florida to offer training and accreditation in Piano, Voice, Theory and Music History through the Royal Conservatory program. Grades range from Preparatory A (beginner) through Grade 10 and result in an Associate Degree in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music.
In addition to earning credits toward their associate degree, nine students of the New Tampa Studio were awarded the RCM’s prestigious "Silver Medal” and one student, Mia Topic, won the "Gold Medal” from the RCM for scoring highest in their grade for the "Practical Exam” in Piano Performance.
The "Practical Exam,” administered by a Royal Conservatory visiting examiner from Toronto, consists of each candidate playing original pieces from the Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Twentieth Century genres, as well as technical etudes, scales, chords and arpeggios, sight-reading and ear-training. The exam, lasting up to an hour depending on the level, is conducted one-on-one with the student playing for the judge.
"No other program in the United States offers such a high-caliber music curriculum,” said Wendelken. "This is our studio’s ninth year with the Royal Conservatory. We used to fly to Toronto for the exams.” However in 2003, Wendelken was beckoned to Toronto as one of six American teachers who helped write the American Syllabus for the Associate Diploma. "I wanted to set the standard for classical music in Tampa Bay,” Wendelken said, "By upholding The Royal Conservatory standards, we have accomplished that.”
Having brought the prestigious exam to Tampa, Wendelken has subsequently nurtured many students for the program. "Not every piano student is a match for RCM, and we do have a few students who choose not do the exams. But, with the right teacher and parental support, many ‘normal’ musicians find their stride with this program and achieve tremendous results,” Wendelken said.
Many talented students who came to the studio as mediocre musicians have become flourishing, confident pianists while others are attracted to the opportunity to be challenged to take their music to the next level, earning college credits as they go. Wendelken attributes the studio’s successful turnout of prodigious students to the fact that "there is no substitute for real conservatory training.”
A typical week for the studio consists of private lessons, Monday to Friday. The weekends are then available for group activities including performance classes, theory and music history, and recitals. In honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday last year, the studio celebrated with Mozart selections, hand-made tee shirts with zany quotes by the musical maestro, and a showing of the movie Amadeus for the older students.
Wendelken’s passion for music is embodied in her students’ abundant honors for the year, but what is really touching is the camaraderie developed through musical interests and goals. “Sometimes, at the end of a week of music I find teenagers lingering, whether it’s taking turns playing on the Steinway and talking or in my kitchen making brownies, we’re like family here, too.”
| Home | About Us | Services | Success Stories | Top Ten Facts | Calendar | Resources |
| Contact Wendelken Piano Studio: (813) 978-1771 • info@tampapiano.com |
| ©2005-2006 Wendelken Piano Studio. TampaPiano.com |