Sydney Piano School & Pedagogy Research Centre is the research-based piano school for excellence in classical piano training in Australia. We are deeply dedicated to motivating and inspiring students of all ages through music education and performance, enabling them to shine through music. Piano pedagogy seminar is organized weekly here to provide teachers and students professional enrichment, and explore a variety of relevant and stimulating pedagogical topics.
Missions:
- Researches and advances the art of piano pedagogy, develops the future leaders of piano educator.
- Cultivates pianists with a distinctive personal style.
- Balances technique and musicality with educational needs.
Our aim is not only to cultivate students’ pianistic techniques and musical ability, but also to nurture students’ creativity, independence and persistence.
where she studied piano performance and contemporary music research under Stephen Whittington, Maria Bajalica, and David Lockett.
Additionally, she studied a master’s course in piano pedagogy with Rodney Smith at the Elder Conservatorium. During her studies in South Australia, Crystal taught at the Young Conservatorium at the Elder Conservatorium.
Continuing her academic journey in Sydney, Crystal pursued a PhD in Music Education with a focus on piano pedagogy, under the supervision of Jennifer Rowley and Stephanie McCallum at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, which she was awarded in 2024. Her doctoral research examined piano education methods across different cultural contexts and strategies for piano technique development. Her extensive data collection—including in-depth interviews with a great number of piano professors worldwide—and comprehensive literature review garnered praise from experts in the field. Notably, American pianist Dr. Pamela Pike commended her “admirable attempt to survey how piano technique and playing mechanics have evolved alongside the development of the instrument itself during the past 300+ years.”
Crystal’s unwavering passion and dedication have yielded remarkable teaching results over the years. Her students have achieved significant success in various competitions; for example, Kayla Chiu won the 1st Prize Recital Award in the 13-year-old group, and Tiger Han won the 1st Prize Recital Award in the 14-year-old group at the Sydney Eisteddfod.
Furthermore, multiple students of hers have been awarded full music scholarships at prestigious private schools.
As the principal of Sydney Piano School, Crystal is responsible for developing the curriculum and syllabus in collaboration with leading experts. She organizes teacher seminars to instil systematic teaching methods and strategies, edits technical teaching materials, supervises teaching activities, and assesses teaching outcomes through student performances and examinations. Her leadership ensures that the school maintains a consistent teaching standard and a well-structured educational framework.