Description
Alexander Oliver graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2019 with a BA degree in Music Theory and Piano Performance. His musical career began in 2006 when he first began taking lessons for the violin. During his youth he played a variety of instruments in different settings, including clarinet, saxophone, trombone and euphonium. He eventually fell in love with the piano and hasn’t looked back since. Alexander has studied with Rosy Sackstein, Maria Ezerova and Anatole Leikin at UCSC. As a professional, Alexander has close to a decade of private instruction experience, starting with piano tutoring in college and including 2 years of teaching piano and clarinet with Everyone’s Music School, a local school in Santa Cruz.
Alexander firmly believes that the best way to learn piano is to first foster a love for the instrument. He implements this in his teaching style with each individual student, allowing them to explore the music that they enjoy while he provides guidance in technique and theory. His own love for the instrument comes from the challenge of difficult repertoire. Alexander has performed solo piano recitals featuring pieces by composers Schumann, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Ligeti and Kapustin. He is an active performer, working as an accompanist with the First UU Church of San Diego, and was recently a soloist with the City Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. He is currently studying for a Masters of Piano Performance with Dr. Karen Follingstad at SDSU.
Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams 2024
