Theodore Rockas

New York-based pianist Theo Rockas has been praised for his “bravura” playing in The New York Times. Theo has experience teaching piano and music theory at The Juilliard School (where he studied piano). Theo maintains a deep relationship with contemporary music and has premiered works of many composers, including the renowned British composer Michael Finnissy’s “Could I sing with angels” in Carnegie Hall. He has performed electronic music by Catherine Lamb and Six Pianos by Steve Reich in Juilliard’s ChamberFest. He has also performed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and at the Aspen Music Festival. He is a mentor and head of 21st century music at the Artemisia Foundation. Theo teaches students in and around New York City and has experience working with a wide variety of ages and abilities

For beginners I generally work from Bartok's Mikrokosmos first before moving to Schumann's Album für die Jugend. I try and expose my students to a broad variety of styles and then let them explore the repertoire that interests them most. I also enjoy playing 4 hand duet music with students so they have opportunities to play with another musician.