Bio

Peter Kristian Mose offers private piano lessons in the historic Cabbagetown district of downtown Toronto to all music learners, no matter their age, ability, or musical preferences.

Music educator Peter Mose is a welcoming Toronto piano teacher with sterling credentials and a wide reputation. He’s patient, cheerful, and knows his stuff. He also possesses an unusual expertise in the adult piano learner, and counts many adults among his students. One of his favorite accolades, however, comes from a 13-year-old, who remarked to his parents after his first lesson, “Now there’s a teacher!”

With over 25 years’ experience teaching a diverse range of students — including many seeking refuge from the the Royal Conservatory exam system — Peter is also well known in the broader North American piano teaching community. He has lectured widely, and was for several years an essayist and contributing editor for the American magazine Clavier, where his thoughtful columns found many fans.

Mr. Mose holds a liberal arts music degree from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire (A.B. with distinction in music, minor in philosophy), piano performance and piano pedagogy diplomas from Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music (double A.R.C.T., with pedagogy diploma awarded first-prize Gold Medal), and a graduate teaching degree from National Louis University in Chicago (M.Ed. in adult learning). In more recent years he has pursued extensive studies in Dalcroze Eurhythmics — the respected European system of experiential music learning through physical movement — notably with the late Canadian pianist/dancer Donald Himes in Toronto.

If I have a philosophy as a music teacher, it is simply that we are all naturally musical, and that anyone can play the piano — at any age — with a little help and some perseverance. My background is in classical music, but my teaching tends to be broader in compass, and tailored to the individual learner.| Peter Mose

Teaching Info

There is a premise to my teaching piano – or to my teaching music at the piano, which is what I prefer to say that I do. The premise is that we are all musical, and that anyone can play the piano.

It’s not about talent. It’s about sitting alone at the keyboard each day for 30 to 60 minutes, and exploring musical puzzles while exercising and strengthening one’s fingers. The learning will occur naturally.

It works best when you find a teacher willing to meet you halfway, someone who understands and monitors your growth. This is what I strive to do with each student. A number of my adult students over the years have been themselves teachers: they know what it takes to help someone else to grow in knowledge, and I am honored that they have accorded me the role of mentor.

For children, it is easier. They can just feel when they are in the presence of a good teacher. Or of a ho-hum teacher. Or someone all wrong for them. When they are stuck with someone who is not on their wavelength, at most they endure their music lessons. With the right person, by contrast, they blossom and there is no stopping them.

Am I demanding as a piano teacher? I try not to be. The world of music education has too many so-called demanding teachers who mostly incite fear. Instead, I am always hoping that the musical paths I offer for students — and the eclectic repertoire I might select for them — will encourage them to learn out of inner curiosity and enjoyment. For music is both a constant challenge and a constant source of delight, at whatever one’s age and whatever one’s skill level.