Mary-Ann Murnane
My earliest memories of music are of listening to my mother play Bach Preludes and Fugues and Chopin Polonaises when I was 4 years old. I would forget the number of my favourite Fugue and so my mother would have to play through all of them again, until we found my special one, Fugue V, Book 1. I also loved singing and dancing with my big sisters to Georgie Girl by The Seekers. And then there was lilting melancholic melody Puff the Magic Dragon…
The ebb and flow of piano lessons and music reached a crescendo when at 18, I commenced studying piano with Klara Ambrus (1957-2008), an exceptional pianist and pedagogue from Belgrade, Serbia. Klara opened the door to a whole new world of listening intently, developing my technique and playing expressively. Klara remains forever present in my piano playing and teaching. My Honours Supervisor, Stan Link, an American Composer who taught in the Department of Music at La Trobe University and is now Professor of Music Composition at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, USA, was my other significant mentor, cultivating my appreciation of conceptual music by composers such as John Cage, Laurie Anderson and Steve Reich.
In 1999, I left Australia on “an open-ended trip,” after visiting an uncle in the north east USA, I traveled by bus from Maine to San Diego to take up a residency with Michael Schnorr & the Border Art Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo (BAW/TAF). Cuba was my ultimate destination but love and the birth of my first son found me living in Tijuana and working on both sides of the Mexico/USA border, teaching piano privately, at schools and for the Walton Family Foundation. I was also the music teacher at Montessori-Paolini Kindergarten.
During this time, I worked as a performer & teaching artist with Alejandro Espino Aldana, co-founder of ensemble Arbol Azul (Blue Tree). Together, we toured our arts-in education show, Canto a La Luna: A Musical Journey through Latin America, throughout the USA under the auspices of the Bureau of Lectures and Performing Artists, Kansas. We drove 60,000km in our motorhome, performing at more than 300 schools and colleges – all this with a full sound system set up, a large collection of instruments, a third musician – and our toddler son, Atzin, in tow! He adapted very well to being looked after by teachers, principals, kitchen staff, secretaries and parents during the 45 minute show when mum was “busy!” After a year on the road, we decided to stay closer to home (Tijuana) and took up a residency with Young Audiences of San Diego. In 2007, Arbol Azul was named Performing Artist of the Year by Young Audiences of San Diego. Arbol Azul also performed regularly in Northern Mexico at the Centro Cultural Tijuana, festivals and special events.
Since my return to Australia in 2007, I have focused primarily on piano teaching which brings me great joy. I am also very passionate about teaching children on the autism spectrum.
I love playing minimalist composers such as Glass, Tiersen, Einaudi and Satie. I also have a deep affinity for the beautifully dissonant music of folk inspired composers such as Khatchaturian, Bartok and Villa Lobos, as well as Piazzolla. When I find time “sitting on the window sill,” I pursue projects in writing, photography, collecting curious objects and plants – alocasias, succulents and cacti.
Piano lessons are open to students of all ages, from young children to adults, beginners to intermediate. I enjoy working in a holistic, nurturing and collaborative manner, facilitating a unique, meaningful and engaging learning experience for all my students. I believe that we are all innately musical beings, it’s just that many of us have grown up with the idea that some people are musical and some people are not. With the right support we can all access our inner music, bringing the joys and depths of music making into our daily lives. For some, playing the piano is a very personal learning experience for their own enjoyment and well being, for others, there may be a desire to share their music more widely and play with and for others. I delight in accompanying my students on their own musical journeys, always looking for positive ways to nurture their strengths, interests and creativity. For students needing a more deeply therapeutic experience of music, this too, is possible.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts (Hons), La Trobe University
Graduate Diploma in Humanities (Music), La Trobe University
Graduate Diploma of Education (Primary), Monash University
Professional Affiliations
Victorian Music Teachers Association
Amaze
‘The earth has music for those who listen.’
Shakespeare
