Lisa Gavin

Lisa grew up locally, was a gifted piano student from age 7 on, and taught piano for 10 years at her home studio in Eden Prairie before coming to Kramer’s studio in 2021. She enjoys teaching brand new piano students, of any age. For young through old students, Lisa models and teaches the skills to love learning and playing piano music.

The joy of teaching for Lisa is interacting with each student, finding their learning style, and helping them learn to read music for pitch and rhythm. She uses method books for this and for a good foundation in technique, theory, and artistic expression. A variety of musical styles are introduced in these books; classical music will be the focus when students reach intermediate levels.

As a student herself, Lisa always loved the thrill of performing. She encourages each student to memorize and perform pieces for listeners whenever there is a chance, and to perform in the frequent recital opportunities at Kramer’s Studio. Students can also participate in the MMTA yearly contests and MMTA exams.

Lisa is from Edina, MN, was trained on classical music, and grew up playing in recitals at Schmitt Music in downtown Minneapolis, and in the MMTA State Contest at Northrup Auditorium. She graduated from St. Olaf College. She studied with Mary Teel Johnson in Edina, and at St. Olaf College with Dr. Ken Graber. After college, she continued studying with master teachers Barbara Nymark in Eden Prairie, Jean Krinke in St. Paul, Kathleen VanDoeren in Edina, and Kathy Faricy in Minnetonka. As she began teaching piano in 2004, she completed a 2-year teacher certification program through the National Music Teachers Association to become a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM).