Maria Papathanasiou
“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to
gather wood, divide the work, and give orders.
Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea”.
Antoine de Saint Exupery
I am very passionate and enthusiastic about music learning and music education. Irealised during my studies that I have a natural talent in teaching the oboe and the recorder and in coaching wind ensembles in orchestral education. I wanted very much to develop this talent and my teaching skills and I did a thorough research upon the instrumental teaching and pedagogy.
My research was based upon bibliography of educational, sociological and psychological theories and using different learning styles for creating a more interesting and inspiring instrumental teaching which focuses on:
• Engaging the young wind players with the orchestral repertoire using various learning styles like kinaesthetic learning, experiential learning, visual learning, auditory learning and by connecting them with other forms of art.
• Enhancing their stage presence and confidence in an orchestral concert and preparing them on how to perform on stage and deliver messages/communicate with the audience using vicarious learning, group learning and experiential learning
• Motivating them to love and enjoy playing their instruments and their music
I applied these methods in plenty of projects with the London Symphony Orchestra Discovery and in primary schools in London, as well as the Oboe Professor and Woodwind Tutor at the State Music School of Thessaloniki for two years (2010-2012).
The results from my research methods applied in my teaching are astonishing and I love inspiring youngsters musically, motivating them and initiating them into the universal, infinite and magical world of music.
You can see some small samples of my work (both from my research and from the educational projects) in my blog, the gallery and the videos.
If you would like a trial lesson in the oboe or the recorder, please contact me through the Contact section of this website.
I look forward to motivate you to share this music experience and love for music, the oboe and the recorder! Bear in mind what Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher said: ‘Without music, life would be a mistake!'
