Piano Stars from Canada
​(we have good music, what can I say?)

Music Super Stars in the Vancouver Area (Burnaby)

My teachers' family
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A first copy of Edward Parker's Pedagogy Principles, a book for teachers on how to teach.
What is it about Burnaby in the Greater Vancouver area in BC Canada, that produced the Parker family of Concert pianists and the Grammy award-winning singer, Michael Bublé, who lives in Burnaby today?

For the Parkers, they were raised by piano-teaching parents and they naturally followed their parents' footsteps. For Michael Bublé, he dreamed and prayed that he would become a singer since he was 2 years- old.

​What made you want to play the piano? 

When I first started learning the piano, it was my mom's idea for me to learn the piano. It was more of a duty to me but piano ended up being great for my mental health. It became an emotional outlet. I studied piano performance with Eileen Parker, who was Chinese and went to study in Russia for a period of time. So my playing is actually more Russian-like. After I finished my ARCT in Piano Performance, I joined Edward Parker for his ARCT Pedagogy group classes at the BC Conservatory of Music. Edward Parker was very tough and often gave out difficult material and mock exams. For his private lessons, if you are not talented enough, he may just fall asleep! However, he becomes fully awake and engaged in front of a group class. 

The world has changed since my teachers were alive. The last generation of teachers emphasized discipline above all else and you could get hit by the parent and teacher if you didn't practice. And that's why many children did not like playing the piano and it became a chore.  They never touch the piano again after they grow up. But nowadays, positive reinforcement is in to 'build' their self-esteem. Children get a compliment for merely showing up and finishing playing a few notes. This overly cuddly way of teaching is not ideal either. It is not the reality and gave the children a wrong standard of excellence. It is the teacher's job to find a balanced approach to teaching today's students. I hope to build a solid foundation in piano techniques and knowledge as well as cultivating the enjoyment and appreciation of music. 

An article about growing up in a musical Parker household 

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Link to original article: https://www.ludwig-van.com/toronto/2018/07/11/profile-house-piano-built-parkers/
Michael Buble still lives in Buranby today. 
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Vancouver Symphony Orchestra - Symphony In the Park (Deer Lake Park)

Canadian composer, Michael Conway,
​who resides in North Vancouver. 

Kevin Chen
​THREE-time world piano champion (Liszt competition, Rubenstein competition, and Geneve competition)
- Canadian concert pianist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 

Bruce Liu
International Chopin Competition Winner
- Canadian concert pianist from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 
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