Amanda Byars Piano Teacher for Gray School of Music
My teaching experience began in college teaching beginning piano lessons to a handful of young beginners. I was “hooked” from the first moment I saw a student’s “light bulb” go off and I continue to love being a piano teacher today.
Since graduating from college in 1974, my experience has come a long way. I now have a masters degree in piano performance and piano pedagogy from SMU, attended multiple conventions and workshops, authored several articles for professional magazines and conducted workshops on the local, state and national level. The greatest joy of my professional life is the warm relationships I developed with many students which I continue to enjoy today.
Besides running a successful private studio, I have also served as a faculty member of SMU’s Piano Preparatory Department for over 10 years and taught piano pedagogy courses to graduate students.
In 1998 I served as Director of Educator and Artist Relations at Steinway Hall-Dallas cultivating relationships with local performing arts venues, the Van Cliburn Competition and concert pianists and their management companies. Always open to new challenges, I became the Director of the Kawai Music School in Plano in 2015 from which I have recently retired.
My life always revolves around my dogs, Micky and Molly, supporting local rescue organizations, and reading books of all kinds.