Rockdale teachers are the real deal—we make sure of it! We select our teachers here carefully (think CIA application process but harder), making sure that our team meets three key criteria:
Today, we’re chatting with Anna, our new piano, voice, ukulele, and songwriting teacher!
We talked with her about how she got her start in music, her teaching philosophy, and what she’s listening to lately.
What was your motivation for becoming a teacher?
I discovered that I loved teaching by accident actually. Since the first day of teaching, I told myself that all I want for my students is to fall in love with music and to make it a sustainable practice.
How long have you been performing?
I first began learning piano at the age of 7. I begged my parents for me not to do dance and they said “dance or piano. Take your pick”. I chose the latter. I picked up the ukulele when I was 16. I am mostly self taught but ukulele became a game changer for my songwriting. Speaking of songwriting, I began playing around on the keyboard and wrote my first song when I was seven years old. The song is called “beautiful gloves”. At some point, singing got thrown into the mix but I couldn’t tell you when that started. I feel like I always did that too.
What advice would you give to a new music student?
You can’t cheat your way through learning music. I find that the more you guess notes or try to learn faster, the longer it takes to learn. It is important to not focus only on the cool songs you’ll be able to play, but the hard work and process to get to that point. Essentially, focusing on the process rather than the result. Enjoy the journey!
What’s your favorite thing about teaching?
My favorite thing about teaching is connecting with the students and Seeing them fall in love with music. When they get passionate or excited about the lesson it makes me smile from ear to ear!
What is your most memorable teaching moment/experience?
I taught a student who was quite shy and didn’t talk much. She was one of my first students. She was actually my first vocal student. I wanted her to feel more confident and learn to be comfortable with singing and projecting her voice. A few months into teaching her, her mom showed me a video of her singing on stage at a karaoke party from when they were on vacation. That was the first time I realized that I was making an impact.
What have you been listening to lately?
Lately, I have been listening to Mitski, Sarah Kinsley, Jesse Welles, and Kurt Vile. My current favorite song is Grapevine Fires by Death Cab for Cutie but my mind changes everyday.
What’s a fun fact we might be surprised to learn about you?
I am also an artist that mostly works with sculpture! I use the songs that I write as inspiration for my art. I make masks, costumes, mixed media cocoons and more. In my bio picture where I am playing ukulele under a cocoon fixture, that cocoon was actually made by me! It’s actually a lamp and it was really fun to make!
Any recent projects you’d like to share?
Yes, actually! I released my first single in November 2024! The song is called Starry Night and my artist name is Aniusha. This song is on pretty much all streaming platforms. I do not believe this song represents me well enough as a songwriter as it’s simply one song. But I plan to release more music soon and hopefully educate myself more on the recording process. More to come!