Starting off 2018…the composer of the month is Wendy Stevens!
Background
Wendy Stevens is a pianist, teacher, composer and clinician. She has a Bachelor of Music in Piano Pedagogy and Masters of Music in Theory and Composition from Wichita State University. She publishes blogs regularly on her website composecreate.com . She offers many helpful ideas for teachers to teach creatively and writes music that is pedagogical, yet fun and impressive. She supports teachers by posting many free resources on her website and is especially creative with rhythmic ideas. She has even written a book, “Rhythm Explorations”.
Wendy’s resources are great for inviting students to learn exciting pieces, but I find her teacher resources even better! She helps piano teachers (many whom are self-employed businesses, but have never been taught how to operate as a business) how to manage their studio with a professional studio policy, market themselves to current and new students, and also offers online workshops. I met Wendy in March 2017 (surrounded by many adoring teachers!) and she is just as friendly and lovely in-person as she is online.
Popular Pieces
Elementary Level: Tasty Tunes
Here is a collection of hilarious elementary-level pieces about food:
Elementary Level: The Booger Song
Comes with hilarious lyrics:
Late Intermediate: Buzzer Beater
Includes a brief improvisatory element at the end:
I encourage you to check out her website! There’s something for everyone!
Interested in starting your piano journey?
Hannah's Piano Studio 