1)lead with listening (mindfulness),
2)analyze the score (mental complexity),
3)execute technical control with mind-body connection (kinesthesis),
4)maximize personal artistic expression (creative thinking).

Extraordinary playing is ordinary notes played in context and with intention.

How is my process optimized for a continuum of lifelong learning?
*I believe great music-making starts with great listening. I will listen to you and I will show you how to hear different qualities of sound. Practice Conscious Listening™!

*Your life experiences, temperament, sensibilities, imagination, can all contribute to your musical expression.

*Every student has an individual learning style, and I love helping you figure out what works best for you.

*I incorporate mind-body connection to improve movement intelligence and help you find the "kinestetic sweet spot", and emotional intelligence to explore musical character.

*My own integrated piano methods are "research and development" centered. Expanding on my experiences as an award-winning performer, I consistently and passionately devote daily time to gathering and processing teaching ideas for you. My teaching  tools are always being expanded and enhanced.

*With a lifetime of academic education including degrees at Juilliard and Yale, specialty studies, communications studies, and 14 years of teaching at the University of Colorado at Boulder, I also incorporate diverse pedagogical modalities including mindful/somatic movements, lifestyle/practice habits, my Musical Breathwork™, and improving mindsets to make sense of the practicing process.

If you are ready to invest in yourself, to practice listening, and to make musical connections, then relax and let me guide you to more effortless and creative pathways. 

theNutmegStudio@gmail.com

Hsing-ay Hsu accidentally became a passionate teacher to adults at the age of 14, when a stranger overheard her practicing, appreciated her ability to explain concepts, and asked her to give lessons. Since her stage debut at age 4, Steinway Artist Hsing-ay Hsu (“Sing-I Shoo”) has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center NYC, and infuses her experience as an international prizewinner, concert producer, adjudicator, in her work as teacher/educator/owner of Nutmeg Studio NYC. She also hosts a YouTube channel and Conscious Listening™ workshops to engage lifelong learners and music-lovers.

Until recently, Ms. Hsu was the Artistic Director for Pendulum New Music Series at the University of Colorado in Boulder, where she supervised over 500 student and professional premieres and was named "Pathmaker" by the Denver Post. She has taught piano for numerous universities including the University of Colorado in Boulder and Ohio University, and has lectured for University of Denver Enrichment, the Denver Art Museum, the Friends of Chamber Music Denver salon series, the MTNA national conference, and the DAMTA Lecture Series. She created the Conscious Listening method to give audiences and pianists a broader perspective on the art of performance. An educator, adjudicator, teacher of prize-winning students, and CSMTA’s College Faculty Chair, her teaching honors include the NFMC Ouida Keck Award.

Her writings has appeared in the Juilliard Journal, Colorado Music Teachers Magazine, Visible Magazine, and Psychology Today.

Born in Beijing, Hsu studied piano with her parents and her uncle Fei-Ping Hsu, and later with Herbert Stessin at Juilliard and Claude Frank at Yale. She also trained in the fellowship programs at the Tanglewood Music Center, Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute, the Aldeburgh Britten-Pears Programme (UK), the Aspen Music Festival, and abroad.

Ms. Hsu resides in New York City with her husband, composer and Young Concert Artists president Daniel Kellogg. Her favorite pastimes are dance and improv theater. 

Free: Discovery Zoom or Phone Call (10minutes), Blog articles, YouTube video library. 

Group Sessions:  Masterclasses, summer adult camp, and intensives are available at different times of the year. Please join the email list.

Private Sessions:
With a low overhead, Nutmeg Studio NYC offers

• world-class teaching at a fraction of the price of comparable extension programs, with unlimited flexibility in frequency of scheduling. 

• assessible  range of pricing options, depending  on the type of interaction and frequency of lessons, live vs. video evaluation, from $55 - 160 per session, with most students opting for something in between.       

• interchangeable online or in-person option, reducing conflicts caused by distance, traffic, mild illness, etc.    

• transaction-free contact hour. Payments are due at time of scheduling by Zelle or Paypal. Studio Policies apply. 

Note: Progress requires a regular rhythm of lessons. If you are not ready to commit, then a coaching is possible.

Educator Scholarship:
If your earnings are limited because you pursue a passion for empowering others, please write to me about your mission, how lessons will increase your impact on others, and what your financial restraints will allow you to pay. I may invite you to share supporting documents.

Chamber Music Coachings:
Please inquire. Scholarships available through https://acmp.net/grants/home-coaching/#Apply

What makes my integrated approach transformational?

 I help people fall in love with practicing by
1)strategizing achievable steps in a set time frame (MANAGEMENT)
2)designing/sculpting your sound with the next evolution of technique, including finger strengthening, dance-inspired kinesthetic awareness, and Musical Breathwork™ (TONE/DELIVERY)
3)clarifying your dreams and helping you respond effectively to perceived or actual limits (MINDSET)
4)recognizing /accepting/refocusing emotions: both your personal emotions and the emotions of the music (EQ)
5)and creating a shared ABUNDANCE of practical solutions and artistic possibilities (PASSION/SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT).

We always begin our relationship by assessing where you want to go and what's in your way.

For beginners, a comprehensive plan may best help you to establish a practice structure and measure your progress. This also builds competence and confidence.
For intermediate/advanced players, the lesson is about determining and fine-tuning what you need most, and finding the courage to tackle bigger challenges.
For professional track performers, we often strategize around an upcoming competition or project-driven goals, and clarify your career vision. Big picture coachings include consulting on your career mission, style, and business models.

Specific skills I have helped  my clients achieve:
communications skills / speaking to an audience / stage presence
competition strategy
composition
emotional intelligence, improv, keyboard skills/ vocal & choral accompaniment
mental practicing
practice room strategies, prioritizing skills, managing performance anxiety, pedagogy skills,
physical intelligence - dance inspired concepts of motion,
score study skills, theory/analysis, aural training, time management
basic business/financial advice for musicians - Quickbooks, small business consulting
mind-body connection
infusing creativity to personal interests

FOR TEACHERS

Artistic Practicing Process

Practicing Feelings

The Miracle of Breath

Hear That? Teaching Harmonic Sensitivity

Cultural Differences in Teaching: China and the USA

FOR PERFORMERS

The Nutmeg Studio Approach: Seminars for Advanced Pianists  (series)
A series of 14 rotating topics, ideally paired with masterclass for application demonstration. (sample brochure below.)

Beyond Your Fingertips: Imprinting Emotional Well-Being (series)

Communications Make-Overs for Young Artists (series)

FOR BEGINNERS

Adult Beginners Technical Progression

Seminars for Music Appreciation
Inside the Orchestra: From a Composer's View (series)
Guided Music Listening- What Do You Hear? (series)

Foundations of Understanding - Open Level
“3 step listening”, “3 levels of understanding”, “Elements of the Music”.  

FOR COLLEGE LEVEL ENRICHMENT

Tonal Analysis for Performers - College Level Course

Additional Topics: 

While I love to help pre-college students find their passion, I do this through coachings and masterclasses and usually do not give weekly lessons to this age group.

I believe that the best musical results come from developing a child/teen as a whole person, including emotionally and physically through the music. This requires the full buy-in of the parents to support advanced techniques like mental practicing, emotional connection, video review, all of which are essential parts of daily practice time.  

For all coachings, in-home or in-studio, a parent or guardian must be remain at the location.