Rachel Iwaasa

"Keyboard virtuoso and avant-garde muse" (Georgia Straight), RACHEL KIYO IWAASA is recognized among Canada’s foremost contemporary music pianists. Rachel’s musical pedigree traces back to Beethoven via three separate lineages, through her teachers Jane Coop, Menahem Pressler, and Robin Wood. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Music from Indiana University Bloomington, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria, where she earned the Victoria Medal as the top graduating student in Fine Arts. She was also a two-time recipient of the prestigious Annual Grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for graduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin. Rachel maintains a private teaching studio in East Vancouver for a select number of students. Her teaching is student-focused, ranging from professional composers and musicians to beginners trying piano for fun. The only prerequisite is an enthusiastic love of music.