Dr. Catherine Campbell

Stephen
Closter, NJ

Never underestimate the expense of a free piano. A free piano can sit in the room like a piece of dust-collecting, unused furniture. Or, a free piano can be a valuable source of joy. Cathy Campbell has helped guide our nine-year-old daughter to experiencing the joy of music through our free piano. As a parent of a child who enjoys going to her lessons, I find myself learning and practicing along with my daughter, and renewing the halted lessons from my youth. Cathy received the most resounding endorsement from our neighbors, one of whom works on Broadway. It’s obvious that Cathy conveys her love of music through her lessons to children, to adults, in workshops, through her own playing, and in many other ways. This engagement is so powerful and that it has altered the trajectory of which music our daughter listens to and how she listens to it. For instance, she’s not just bound to follow the pop music of her old sister, but has a growing appreciation and understanding of more complex forms of music and their subtleties. In part, this is a result of Cathy’s concurrent lessons in theory, which support that understanding of the increasingly complex pieces of music. Our daughter is not learning to play for the sake of playing. In a manner appropriate to her age, our daughter is learning the foundation of music. She’s learning how to read music, learning what is happening within the music she is playing, and learning the overarching structure that supports a particular piece. The goal of this process is the performance. The goal-setting, and the personal desire to play well, highlight all of what our daughter has prepared, not only since the last performance, but what Cathy continually works with her students to learn, internalize, and then display when perform in front of an audience. In front of fellow students and family, our daughter gets to perform quite often. Cathy has also invited our daughter to perform at other venues. And it has been wonderful to see our daughter’s musical growth and continually increasing technical capabilities. Certainly there are plateaus in that growth. But overall, Cathy has helped instill and sustain an interest of music, which will only grow and deepen. We are so happy to be working with Cathy Campbell, as every day she brings more and more joy and value to our free piano.

SM
Demarest, NJ

I cannot write anything about Cathy Campbell in a testimonial that can adequately capture her brilliance as a pianist and a teacher. However, I will try to briefly capture her profound effect on my experience as a musician for the benefit of those prospective piano students who may wish to begin study with Cathy. I have been a student of Cathy's for 15 years. I began studying piano at the age of 6 and I still remember my first piano lesson with Cathy to this day. I played a very basic version of the theme of 'Ode to Joy,' which I had learned by ear from one of my kindergarten classmates who was also studying under Cathy. Cathy carefully and sincerely brought me through the fundamentals of music theory, technique, and reading. Throughout my grade school years, I continued with Cathy and her husband Bob Rodriguez, a very accomplished jazz pianist and composer. Cathy helped me get accepted into various piano summer programs, where I had the opportunity to study with other accomplished teachers. When I graduated high school and began to attend a local college in the area, I became drawn to romantic classical music, especially Chopin and Schubert, and Cathy imparted her wisdom and passion for such music onto me. As my skills grew, she taught me the importance of using the weight of the arm, finger techniques, phrasing, etc. I continue to work on Chopin and Schubert Impromptus with her. Because of the sincerity and pedagogical discipline and expertise that Cathy embodies, I have found a deep love for piano that I will take with me throughout my life. I have studied with many piano teachers since I began my journey at age 6 and can give Cathy nothing less than my highest recommendation.

Jane
Suffern, NY

I have been studying piano with Dr. Campbell for 8 years. As an intermediate student, my experience with her has been a joy and has enhanced both my playing ability and appreciation of piano. She has definitely broadened my scope, providing me with many opportunities to meet and play with other students, including a yearly experience at a Pianocamp.