Evan Pointner
Classical piano, popular piano, film music, composition, improvisation
Evan loves to help others explore the piano as an outlet for their expression and creativity. His students learn foundational techniques and musical building blocks that can be used for exploring any genre or style of music. Evan promotes freedom to make mistakes while working on anything, and treating everything as a learning experience. He encourages bringing to the lesson any desired musical content (songs, classical pieces, video game or movie soundtracks, jazz standards, etc.). Students can also share any musical hopes or dreams (to play in a band, be a composer, improve skills with improvisation, learn all about chords and music theory, produce electronic music, etc.) - and then Evan will help with setting goals, and will offer practical steps and techniques for working towards them.
Students who prefer to avoid traditional notation can also bring in music to learn by ear, and the lessons can be oriented towards improving those skills. Evan believes that having a sense of play and enjoyment is most important for anyone's musical journey. He offers lessons in all levels of piano, composition, improvisation, music theory, and any mixture of the above.
Evan studied piano and composition / improvisation at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he also played keyboard and sang in various bands, and played piano and melodica as part of Improvisation Concerts Ensemble (ICE). Since graduating, he has performed solo and as a part of various duets - at cafes, restaurants, bars, churches, theatres and art galleries. He has also attended and hosted sound meditation events, where the focus is on listening together and creating sounds spontaneously with instruments & our voices. From 2018 onwards, he has focused mainly on his ambient recording project Cedarwood Sounds. So far, these soundscapes have been built from loops, drones, spontaneous melodies, and sometimes other sound sources - and then usually mixed in with field recordings gathered from around southern Ontario.