Welcome! I teach at the collegiate level as a member of the music faculty at Reed College and I teach students of all ages and experience levels in Jennifer Wright Piano Studio at 3656 SE Morrison Street, Portland, Oregon.
Read on to find out about my very active and award-winning private studio!
You can also follow us on Facebook here.
Explore the Teaching pull-down menu categories to learn more or...
Click here for studio admin details
Click here to view gallery pages about our many amazing projects!
Click here for professional workshops, master classes and presentations.
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A peek inside our piano studio!
There are as many wonderful ways to engage with music as there are people alive on this planet! That's why the main focus of my studio is to celebrate the excitement and joy in each student's utterly original and personal musical journey. I tailor my curriculum to support each individual's specific interests within a structure that provides a rich, well-rounded musical education and the terrific fun of sharing music within a community.
I start with a foundation of classical repertoire of all genres, time periods, and geographic locations combined with an emphasis on healthy technique. I encourage proficiency in a wide range of music, including jazz, boogies, blues, pop, rock, theater, film, ragtime, new media, and world music; to this we add improvisation, theory, sight reading, arranging, composition, historical and social context, experimentation, and a focus on projects initiated by each individual student. My job is to give you the lifelong skills and tools to play whatever you want to play so you can enjoy music in the way that speaks to your soul!
I start with a foundation of classical repertoire of all genres, time periods, and geographic locations combined with an emphasis on healthy technique. I encourage proficiency in a wide range of music, including jazz, boogies, blues, pop, rock, theater, film, ragtime, new media, and world music; to this we add improvisation, theory, sight reading, arranging, composition, historical and social context, experimentation, and a focus on projects initiated by each individual student. My job is to give you the lifelong skills and tools to play whatever you want to play so you can enjoy music in the way that speaks to your soul!
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My students develop confident stage presence and musical style through a wide variety of performance opportunities that includes formal recitals, community outreach projects, themed costume concerts, festivals, "Adult Soirees", charity events, and more! Weekly individual lessons and periodic group classes (3-4 times per year) are supplemented with fun optional workshops and creative activities to expand/combine our learning opportunities. Many of my students also participate in an array of outside musical activities, and their piano studies support and combine with many of these (such as chamber ensembles and youth orchestras, folk and rock performing groups, master classes, competitions, festivals, collaborative projects, composition programs, even the odd bit of street busking).
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One of the hallmarks of my studio is frequent themed recitals that place music education in historical and social context (and often place students in period costumes, exciting concert venues, and uniquely fun and challenging performing situations). This makes for deep learning and vibrant memories that will last a lifetime! Our studio is a rare playground of instruments: my Bechstein grand piano, a double-manual harpsichord, a full-size electronic keyboard, a bright orange electric chord organ, a historical square grand, the innards of several deconstructed pianos, drums and other percussion instruments, and more toy pianos that I can keep track of! We regularly use all of these and more in as many creative ways as we can invent.
Our piano family is comprised of students of all ages and abilities from beginners to professionals, building a musical community that makes for a rich, collaborative, and unforgettable learning experience.
Our piano family is comprised of students of all ages and abilities from beginners to professionals, building a musical community that makes for a rich, collaborative, and unforgettable learning experience.
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Please visit the Studio Gallery home page to browse through an epic assortment of programs, images, and descriptions of some of our many fabulous concerts and projects!
Admin info can be found on the Studio Details page.
Admin info can be found on the Studio Details page.
...in a student's own words...
April 2020
"Hello Jennifer,
I hope you are doing well. You taught me piano from when I was five until around nine. I am now graduating high school, and I would just like to thank you for everything you taught me. They may seem like a small part of my life, but your lessons taught me so much that I still keep with me today.
I was a very shy child and it was very difficult for me to make friends or put myself out there in most situations. I can remember watching a silent film in your house on a Saturday in preparation for the silent film recital, and there were so many other kids my age surrounding me but I couldn’t make a sound. I wanted to say what was on my mind, and I was even too scared to get up and grab some of the snacks you had laid out. I can confidently say that the reason I got over this social anxiety and shyness was partly because of you, and what you taught me about public speaking. Although it took me years to eventually be able to walk into a room without anxiety, I know that what you taught me while I was young made all the difference.
Next year I will be attending University and double majoring in marketing and recording arts, and I’ll hopefully later find a job doing something in the music industry. I still play piano all the time. Music is such a big part of my daily life, and it helps me to be creative and find my voice. Thank you for introducing me to my love of music and playing instruments, I don’t know who I would be today if I hadn’t stepped foot in your studio when I was five.
Best regards, V"
"Hello Jennifer,
I hope you are doing well. You taught me piano from when I was five until around nine. I am now graduating high school, and I would just like to thank you for everything you taught me. They may seem like a small part of my life, but your lessons taught me so much that I still keep with me today.
I was a very shy child and it was very difficult for me to make friends or put myself out there in most situations. I can remember watching a silent film in your house on a Saturday in preparation for the silent film recital, and there were so many other kids my age surrounding me but I couldn’t make a sound. I wanted to say what was on my mind, and I was even too scared to get up and grab some of the snacks you had laid out. I can confidently say that the reason I got over this social anxiety and shyness was partly because of you, and what you taught me about public speaking. Although it took me years to eventually be able to walk into a room without anxiety, I know that what you taught me while I was young made all the difference.
Next year I will be attending University and double majoring in marketing and recording arts, and I’ll hopefully later find a job doing something in the music industry. I still play piano all the time. Music is such a big part of my daily life, and it helps me to be creative and find my voice. Thank you for introducing me to my love of music and playing instruments, I don’t know who I would be today if I hadn’t stepped foot in your studio when I was five.
Best regards, V"
...in a parent's words...
"Good morning! Random text...have been meaning to say I just so appreciate the music education you’re providing my family.
Recently we confirmed an autism diagnosis. As I take that information in, my essential fear is that [they] will be othered and not seen as a whole person: there are many ways a mom can fear for her child and we are far more privileged than many families.
But you have always met both of my kids where they are and nurtured artistry and musicianship. What an absolute gift!
Thank you for treating my kids like creators/musicians.
-C"
Recently we confirmed an autism diagnosis. As I take that information in, my essential fear is that [they] will be othered and not seen as a whole person: there are many ways a mom can fear for her child and we are far more privileged than many families.
But you have always met both of my kids where they are and nurtured artistry and musicianship. What an absolute gift!
Thank you for treating my kids like creators/musicians.
-C"
Culture, learning, AND laughs!
Learning happens most effortlessly when we're having FUN!
Here are but a few examples of how we keep our funny bones busy in between our Brahms and boogie woogie.
Learning happens most effortlessly when we're having FUN!
Here are but a few examples of how we keep our funny bones busy in between our Brahms and boogie woogie.
Piano Movie Night!
One of our most beloved traditions is our Almost-Annual Piano Movie Night! We all wear our pajamas and bring our sleeping bags, pillow pets, beanbag chairs, stuffed animals, friends and family, and crash in my living room to watch movies about music and eat TONS of popcorn!
Horrendous Holiday Outfit Week, December 2020
What better way to send off a horrendous year than with our most horrendous holiday gear?
What better way to send off a horrendous year than with our most horrendous holiday gear?
Wear Something Ridiculous to Your Online Lesson Week! April 2020
Who says you can't have fun in quarantine?
Who says you can't have fun in quarantine?
"Play Piano With Your Favorite Toy" Challenge Week, April 2020
More fun with our COVID-era screen time lessons! Adventures in non-traditional piano techniques, courtesy of the cool stuff you have in your home.
More fun with our COVID-era screen time lessons! Adventures in non-traditional piano techniques, courtesy of the cool stuff you have in your home.
Jennifer Wright Piano Studio is located at
3656 SE Morrison Street, Portland OR 97214
Give me a shout! I'd love to hear from you.
jenniferawright (at) yahoo.com | 503-475-2406
"The Portland Metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River, creating communities and summer encampments to harvest and use the plentiful natural resources of the area." - Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable, 2018.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the original caretakers of this land.
Check out skeletonpiano.com to see what I've been up to with my Skeleton Piano and other deconstructed instruments!