Teaching
Edward Simon is an experienced educator offering instruction on piano, improvisation, Latin-music and composition. He is currently Professor of Jazz Piano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the California Jazz Conservatory. He has served on the faculty of prestigious institutions including the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the City College of New York and the University of the Arts, and as Resident Artist at Pacific Jazz Ambassadors (formerly the Brubeck institute) and Western Michigan University. He has taught master classes and clinics at music conservatories and universities around the world and was a visiting professor at the Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales in Caracas, Venezuela (2008). He has been honored on two different occasions (1999, 2004) for this work with a Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Service to Jazz Education from the International Association for Jazz Education.
Simon’s pedagogic style is informed by his long-time exploration of mindfulness and contemplative practice. His lessons focus on piano technique, repertoire, improvisation, theory, mindset and mindful practice.
What my students are saying…
“Edward Simon has long been a significant influence for me as a pianist with his brilliant and elegant playing and compositions. Having the opportunity to study privately with him was a wonderful experience. Aside from his generosity in sharing his deep knowledge of music, he’s also a personable mentor who I’d highly recommend to any aspiring musician.”
-Francesca Prihasti
"As a lifelong piano student, I know that Edward is a rare find: a consummate performing artist and a master teacher. Add to that an innovator. He consistently comes up with novel and effective approaches to meet my particular challenges in learning jazz piano. And when the pandemic hit, he quickly and ably adapted to the challenges of remote piano lessons."
-Steven Natterstad
“Edward is a masterful, wholly committed, and artfully exacting teacher, mentor, and model musician who is equally adept at correcting the minutiae of technique and musicianship as he is provoking the highest artistic concepts. Edward treats the student, the instrument, and the music at hand with upmost sincerity and wields a uniquely perceptive focus that endures throughout each session.”
-Michael Echaniz
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