About MARY
sTUDENTS LEARN TO READ MUSIC BY EXPERIMENTING
WITH DIFFERENT MUSICAL STYLES.
She has been teaching for over twenty years.
Ms. Mary is a great piano teacher, she makes a connection with the student and teaches with patience. It is a stress-free lesson that is paced at the student’s speed.
Naomi B.
Pittsburgh
Mary's bio
Mary Grandelis is a professional piano teacher, musician and filmmaker who is currently teaching online piano lessons on Zoom and composing original music for a film project called Dolly. In her documentary film company, Zen Again Films, she composes music scores for such films as Being The Change: A New Kind Of Climate Documentary and El Cap Report. Both have aired on PBS stations.
Mary is a classically trained musician, but has performed different genres of music at large and small festivals in the US. She collaborates with solo artists, ensembles and bands by using her musical gifts as a pianist and vocalist. Her career as a musician and educator enables her to help students stay engaged by creatively tending to their distinct personalities and learning styles.
From a highly musical background, she started playing the piano at the of age five and later pursued studies in Music and Communications, with a B.S. in Communications at Clarion University. After graduating, she later started a piano studio called, Mary Grand Piano. She has been teaching for over twenty years.
Most recently, Mary has become a registered piano teacher for MusicLink Foundation. They are a nonprofit organization that connects low-income students with experienced music teachers who volunteer to teach at a reduced rate.
There are other benefits for potential students also. Check out the site: musiclinkfoundation.org
music benefits
Builds self esteem!
Parents and piano students notice improvements in mood and emotional balance, creativity, attention, coordination, confidence and academic performance. Piano students also have an edge when learning other musical instruments.
In adults, piano study at an older age can lower blood pressure and dementia risk. There are also improvements in immunity and cognitive abilities. Some of Mary’s favorite students are adults!
When you play piano, your brain releases “happy chemicals” like oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin and endorphins that make you feel uplifted and less stressed.
Music is one of the oldest forms of communication and its relationship with society is profound. It brings communities together and helps individuals enhance their lives through playing an instrument. Music improves our well being.
Piano study at any age can potentially set the stage for a lifelong relationship with music as a creative, emotional and intellectual pursuit. It’s the highest art form, after all.
I had not had a real piano lesson before I met with Mary. Since I was 5 anyway…She has helped me to work on reading and finishing pieces–I have learned a great Bach piece, and have memorized it and love playing it–and definitely it was with Mary’s help that I was able to do that–something I didn’t expect I could do yet. She has a kind and patient approach which I really appreciate, and it’s clear that she also enjoys watching my progress, which is really a nice feeling. Thank you, Mary!