HCD Piano Department Head; Suzuki Piano; Coordinator: Chamber Music Piano
HCD Music
Hartt Community Divisionmlis@hartford.edu F 19
Malgosia Lis earned her Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy at the Paderewski University of Music in Poznan, Poland. While there, she was on the piano faculty at the Music School for Talented Youth. She is a faculty member at The Hartt School Community Division, where she is the Coordinator for the Suzuki Piano Department, Piano Coordinator for the Chamber Music Program, and the Piano Coordinator for the Hartt Suzuki Summer Institute.
Her students participated and received numerous prizes at the following piano events: Renee B. Fisher Competition, Rhode Island University Piano Competition, Chopin International Competition in Hartford, Musical Club of Hartford Competition, Virtuoso Pianists Competition, Czech Republic Piano Competition in Ustii, Bach International Competition in Gorzow, Poland, and Audrey Thayer Competition. Her students were selected to perform at the Suzuki Conference master classes in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016, and at the Connecticut State Music Teachers Association Conference in 2013.
Lis is frequently invited as a master class teacher/clinician to piano workshops and institutes, among them the Dallas Piano Workshop, Queens College Piano Workshop, New England Suzuki Institute, Maine Sonata Festival, Detroit Piano Weekend, Suzuki Music School of Westport, Music Academy International Festival in Mezzano, Italy.
She is a director of the Suzuki Institute in the Dolomites in Fiera Di Primero in Italy as part of the Music Academy International and Mezzano Romantica Festivals.
She was invited as a clinician to Asia Region Suzuki Conference in Bali, Indonesia, and was one of the featured clinicians during Suzuki Conference in Minneapolis in May of 2014. In 2012 she was the Piano Coordinator for the same Suzuki Conference.
Lis collaborated with Mirror Visions Ensemble and performed, among other places, at the Polish Library in Paris, France, where she had a chance to play on the one of Chopin's original pianos. She particularly enjoys performing music for multiple hands/pianos.
In 2011 and 2012 she published a series of articles about Chopin in American Suzuki Journal.
She was a vice president of the Hartford Chapter CSMTA in 2001-04, and was on the board of North Central Chapter of Music Teachers National Association. She is a founding member of Hartford Music Teachers Alliance, where she is the Membership Chair.
As a Suzuki teacher I subscribe to the philosophy “Every Child Can.” I truly believe that with the right, inspired teaching, and with a nurturing home environment, every child can develop skills that would make him or her proficient in piano or any other discipline.
One of my goals as a teacher is to help each parent create that nurturing home environment. Parents are the teacher’s strongest allies and I strive to make parents feel that they are part of a larger community. I try to develop a sense of belonging and a professional friendship.
The long-term goal for my students is to help develop an exceptional human being: one shaped by the beauty of music, a deep thinker, a kind person, a person with strong work ethic and a commitment to long-term goals. A musician and/or a music lover, someone for whom the music is as necessary as food. I strive to create a human being Our lessons are filled with love, humor, and lots of work. In my studio I put strong emphasis on technique and hand position. Scales and sight reading, the foundation on which we build musical expression, are part of every lesson.
Being a part of each of my families’ lives is the most cherished part of my job. To be a constant presence in my students’ lives for so many years is a true privilege.