By the time she began studying classical piano in rural Australia at age four, Fiona already showed an emerging ability to improvise and play by ear. Completing the Australian Music Associate Diploma in piano performance in her teens, she turned her attention to popular music by joining the jazz fusion band Nexus. Thus began a lifetime of studying different forms of music in depth, and passing her knowledge on to her students.
Before moving to New York in 1991, Fiona had also completed the Associate Diploma in Jazz Performance at the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, and worked for a decade as a jazz musician in Sydney leading her own trio and quartet, as well as performing twice as a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. The need to deepen her knowledge led her to relocate to New York, where she has studied for many years with bebop master Barry Harris, and with Sophia Rosoff, a renowned teacher of the Abbey Whiteside principles. Fiona has written articles for The Piano Stylist (now known as Piano Today), and has authored two jazz tutorials introducing students to the Barry Harris approach, which are now available on Barry’s website.
As a natural teacher, Fiona has always sought to translate her knowledge into a form useful and enlivening to her students. Her deep knowledge of jazz principles enables her to pass on authentic rhythmic, harmonic and melodic ideas to all levels of students. Her approach to classical study engenders an emotional connection which lifts the music easily off the page, and can give the music a spontaneous feeling, as if improvised. She has also developed a unique way to access students’ innate musicality and listening skills using the ancient Greek modes.
Fiona is excited to be joining the faculty at 92nd Street Y after teaching in her studio in Brooklyn for the past 25 years.