Heidi Samuels (HMS MUSIC)

She Started Teaching at 18. Some of Her Students Have Stayed for a Decade.

Heidi Samuels has been sitting at a piano bench since she was four years old. By nine, she was already accompanying the elementary school orchestra and band. By high school at Cherry Hill East, she was playing for choirs. That arc — from early student to working accompanist to teacher — didn't pause when she enrolled at the University of Delaware. It accelerated. She began teaching piano through the university's Community Music School during her freshman year, making her first classroom her college campus.

She graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor's in Piano Performance, a degree built on six semesters of music theory and ear training, eight semesters of music history, and a significant load of accompanying work — she was assigned to accompany student singers in the music department and sang in and accompanied the university choir. That same year she founded HMS Music, the private studio she still runs out of Blackwood, NJ. The math puts her at over 30 years of playing and more than 15 years of formal teaching.

What the reviews make clear is that Heidi doesn't burn through students quickly. One parent writes that her son has been with Heidi for ten years — he started before kindergarten. Another family reports nine years. An eight-year-old named Jake, whose grandparents wrote in, is already showing 'intense interest' despite having 'many diverse interests including sports and the internet.' These aren't students who aged out or drifted away. The retention points to something consistent in how she works.

Part of that consistency appears to be her flexibility with material. Heidi describes her approach as catering to each student's individual needs and learning styles, and she ranges across all genres — from harpsichord-era repertoire through contemporary standards. She also teaches keyboard alongside traditional piano, and offers music theory as a standalone subject. Lessons are available in-studio in Blackwood, in students' homes, or online, which gives families options that more rigid setups don't.

One recurring detail in the reviews is worth noting: her student recitals are held at nursing homes and assisted living facilities, not recital halls. She also performs at those venues herself on a volunteer basis. For a parent trying to explain to a child why practicing matters, watching their teacher perform for an audience of residents — and then putting students on that same stage — is a different kind of lesson altogether.

Heidi received the Lillian Weiss Scholarship and Award in spring 1996 following a formal competition, and earned additional scholarships upon entering the music program at the University of Delaware. She is currently based in Blackwood and takes students of all ages and ability levels, from true beginners through adults returning to the instrument.

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