Young Artist Program in Piano
This class is open to senior piano students and provides instruction in a setting that moves towards traditional music college/university instruction while maintaining roots in Suzuki philosophy and pedagogy. It is expected that these senior players, who provide a role model to other participating students, will join enthusiastically in other Institute events.
Students Eligible:
Pianists who have completed the Mozart, Sonata, K. 330 (Suzuki Bk. 6) or who are working at the Grade 9 piano level or above (RCM or Conservatory Canada). Admission to the YAP program is based on invitation following a successful video audition.
Daily in-person only program includes:
Daily Optional Classes: (you may choose up to two options)
Cost: $690 CDN. Optional classes extra
Please note that mature students may better handle the audition process and the public master class instruction in the Young Artist Program. While there are no age limits, high school age students may adapt to this somewhat more intense experience more easily than younger children. The regular Senior Piano program is another very rewarding option available for advanced students who are not sure about the YAP or who are not accepted into the program (there is strictly limited enrollment in the YAP).
Application deadline EXTENDED to May 15
Prepare your video audition, upload it to a web hosting service, and email download links to Elayne Ras by May 1st (no exceptions). See the Video Audition instructions.
NOTE: Audition recordings will not be processed until we have received the registration fee. Some classes will begin on Sunday August 8, and you will be notified via email about the specific times.
Students Eligible:
Pianists who have completed the Mozart, Sonata, K. 330 (Suzuki Bk. 6) or who are working at the Grade 9 piano level or above (RCM or Conservatory Canada). Admission to the YAP program is based on invitation following a successful video audition.
Daily in-person only program includes:
- Master Class (half-hour per student) with Marnie Van Weelden (ON)
- Daily String/Piano Chamber Ensemble Class or Duo Piano Class, depending on student registration
- Daily percussion class
- Chamber music performance
- Solo performance at the end of the week
Daily Optional Classes: (you may choose up to two options)
- Choir for Everyone!
- Beginners Composition
- Intermediate Composition
- Fiddling for Pianists
- Handbells
- Improvisation
- Organ for Pianists
Cost: $690 CDN. Optional classes extra
Please note that mature students may better handle the audition process and the public master class instruction in the Young Artist Program. While there are no age limits, high school age students may adapt to this somewhat more intense experience more easily than younger children. The regular Senior Piano program is another very rewarding option available for advanced students who are not sure about the YAP or who are not accepted into the program (there is strictly limited enrollment in the YAP).
Application deadline EXTENDED to May 15
Prepare your video audition, upload it to a web hosting service, and email download links to Elayne Ras by May 1st (no exceptions). See the Video Audition instructions.
NOTE: Audition recordings will not be processed until we have received the registration fee. Some classes will begin on Sunday August 8, and you will be notified via email about the specific times.
Dr. Marnie Van Weelden enjoys a versatile career as a solo and collaborative pianist and devoted pedagogue based in the Kitchener–Waterloo region. She completed her Associate Diploma in Piano Performance (ARCT) with the Royal Conservatory of Music while still in her teens, began teaching at fourteen, and went on to earn an undergraduate degree in music from Western University followed by Master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance and pedagogy on full scholarship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Her principal teachers there included Louis Nagel and her mentor Logan Skelton, and she pursued further intensive study in Prague and at London’s Guildhall School of Music with Nelly Ben‑Or, focusing on the Alexander Technique and healthy, expressive technique at the piano.
A member of the Royal Conservatory College of Examiners and an RCM Certified specialist from elementary through advanced levels, Dr. Van Weelden is in regular demand across Canada as an examiner, adjudicator, workshop clinician, and guest speaker for teacher organizations, festivals, and university pedagogy programs. Since 2007 she has taught piano and co‑taught piano pedagogy at Wilfrid Laurier University and also serves on faculty at the Beckett School at Laurier, where she mentors emerging pianists while maintaining a select private studio.
Her workshop “Music in Motion” reflects her doctoral research on the Alexander Technique, offering pianists practical tools for dynamic choreography, injury prevention, and whole‑body awareness at the keyboard. Dr. Van Weelden’s students have gone on to graduate study and careers as performers, educators, therapists, and composers, earning scholarships and top prizes at provincial and national competitions and concerto contests, and she is widely recognized for her engaging artistry and deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of pianists.
She is a form SOSI YAP teacher and performed Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals with the SOSI faculty orchestra. Deeply grateful to be part of the vibrant Kitchener-Waterloo musical community, she performs regularly in noon-hour concert series and other local events.
Dr. Van Weelden received her ARCT diploma in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory while still in high school. Having begun teaching piano at the age of 14, she quickly realized that music education was her true calling. She completed her undergraduate studies at Western University before earning both her Master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance and pedagogy on full scholarship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she studied with Louis Nagel and her mentor, Logan Skelton.
During her studies, Dr. Van Weelden performed in the Prague International Masterclass Series in the Czech Republic and took part in a course integrating the Alexander Technique and piano performance with Nelly Ben-Or of the Guildhall School of Music in London, England. A lifelong learner, she continues to refine her artistry through summer programs at the Adamant Music School in Vermont, where she has performed in solo and duo recitals, masterclasses, and studied with distinguished artist teachers including the renowned Menahem Pressler.
Since 2007, Dr. Van Weelden has been a member of the piano faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she also co-teaches the piano pedagogy course with Professor Kroetch. Prior to her appointment at Laurier, she served as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program at the University of Michigan.
During her studies, Dr. Van Weelden performed in the Prague International Masterclass Series in the Czech Republic and took part in a course integrating the Alexander Technique and piano performance with Nelly Ben-Or of the Guildhall School of Music in London, England. A lifelong learner, she continues to refine her artistry through summer programs at the Adamant Music School in Vermont, where she has performed in solo and duo recitals, masterclasses, and studied with distinguished artist teachers including the renowned Menahem Pressler.
Since 2007, Dr. Van Weelden has been a member of the piano faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University, where she also co-teaches the piano pedagogy course with Professor Kroetch. Prior to her appointment at Laurier, she served as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program at the University of Michigan.
NOTE: All information, classes, faculty, etc. are subject to change depending on enrolment.
Thank you to Gabriel Ting for most of the beautiful photos in this year’s website.
Thank you to Gabriel Ting for most of the beautiful photos in this year’s website.