It has been more than ten years since RUTA commenced her impressive career as a piano teacher. She holds a Masters Degree in Music Pedagogy (teaching) and has studied theoretical and practical training for many years. Ruta enjoys working with students of different ages and levels: beginners, intermediates, advanced and even helping professionals.
Her career began in her hometown of Riga in Latvia, where she started as an assistant to her own piano teacher, preparing music school students for examinations. After her advanced studies in music in Prague in 1999, she moved to The Netherlands, where she pursued her teaching career in the Bechstein Foundation for Piano education by maintaining a large private studio in Amsterdam. She also became a member of the teaching staff of De Gooische Muziekschool in Almere.
Since 2009 Ruta rezides in Oakville, Ontario.
Her Oakville studio is equipt with two pianos-Kawai 5 feet grand and Kawai proffesional upright. Her students have given many highly regarded performances at community events, festivals, concerts and are scholarship and price winners of various competitions. She has great experience of working with both children and adults. She also prepares students for RCM examinations (Grades 1-10, ARCT, Licentiate and University level), recordings, auditions and competitions. In addition she has successfully worked with students with autism, dyslexia and other learning difficulties.
Being a creative performing artist, Ruta has the ability to tailor special programs for every student, based on his/her technical and musical abilities. She has an extensive music library, which caters for all musical styles, interests and abilities (from classical to modern). She encourages ensemble playing and can even create new and exciting musical arrangements to meet individual students’ individual needs.
As a teacher Ruta is very accommodating. She understands young people. She is sympathetic to the demands placed upon students in a school day, and in this regard lesson times are very flexible. This is part of what makes this whole experience so fantastic for young people - this professional is human. She believes that as a teacher her responsibility is to ensure that each student fulfills their individual potential without being pushed to discouragement. Ruta is very dedicated and applies herself wholly to the teaching process. Students, who respect this and apply themselves by putting an effort into their studies, will be rewarded with excellent results. Ruta guarantees this wholeheartedly. She has immersed herself in her musical career. She encourages music appreciation and its importance and relevance in everyday life. She very much enjoys teaching, and always strives to keep the student interested, inspired and stimulated- making the experience fun and rewarding.
She uses several piano teaching methods based on both Russian and Western European classical performance traditions.
Ruta’s lessons include:
1. Unique finger and hand exercise program to develop strength and independence of fingers
2. Posture development and relaxation exercises
3. Technique – hand and finger movements, control, tone production, articulation, fingering,
note accuracy, phrasing, ornamentation
4. Musicianship– style, story, coloring, rhythm, time, dynamic control, pedaling
5. Speed, sound- exercises, scales, broken chords, arpeggios etc.
6. Practice techniques, sight reading, theory and vocabulary of music