Jake Furman

Hey there! My name is Jake. I've been playing piano for 27 years and have been teaching for 10 years. I began taking lessons when I was 5 years old and have been playing ever since. I have been classically trained through advanced level piano and also have extensive experience in playing various genres of contemporary piano.

As part of my piano training, I competed for 8 years in the piano performance and music theory categories of the Duqunese University Junior Music Festival. Additionally I competed for 5 years in the Fine Arts Festival of the Assemblies of God church, advancing to the national level in the piano solo category each of those years and earning a place in the top 10 my senior year of high school. After graduating from Nyack College with a bachelors of science, I have spent the last 10 years working on staff as the music/worship director at my church and teaching the piano to students of various ages. 

Despite my years of playing and teaching, I still seek to grow in my piano skills on a daily basis. I am passionate about continuing to grow personally as a musician, as well as helping others in their growth. I truly believe the piano is a joy to those who learn to play it, and I want to help more people discover that joy.  

My teaching style places a high emphasis on a positive student-teacher relationship. I believe that the quality of communication from a teacher and their ability to connect with the student makes or breaks someone's learning experience. My piano teacher was excellent at connecting with me personally, and helping me connect to my creative passions through the piano, and through her teaching I fell in love with the piano. I aim to be that kind of teacher for others by keeping the lesson times interactive, with a healthy balance of encouragement and timely challenge. 

I make it a priority to learn about what each individual student is looking for and needs from a teacher, and try to flex some of my teaching style to best fit each individual student. If you work with me, we'll also identify what you want to get out of our piano lessons, and we'll continually come back to those goals to remember the 'why' as we work through the "nitty gritty" of learning. I believe that piano lessons can be fun, exciting, and challenging, and when they are students will thrive in their learning!