MEET THE TEACHER

Holly Kessis (Ms. Holly) is a teaching artist in the Columbus, Ohio area and the owner of Lyrikos Music Lessons. She has over a decade of experience as a music teacher, performer, collaborator, and lecturer. She graduated summa cum laude from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Music degree, and holds a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy from Ohio University. She studied with Dr. Christopher Fisher (piano performance), Gail Berenson (pedagogy), and Dr. Allyn Reilly (music theory) in graduate school, and completed group practicum studies under Katherine Fisher, co-creator of the Piano Safari piano method.

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Holly has performed nationally and internationally, in such cities as New York, Prague, and Eisenstadt, Austria at the Esterhazy Palace. She has played in master classes for renowned pianists and teachers such as Elisabeth Pridonoff, Jane Magrath, Alan Chow, Alvin Chow, and Steven Beus. Highlights of her academic career include winning the 2013 Concerto Competition at Ohio State University, where she performed the Poulenc Two-Piano Concerto with the OSU Symphony Orchestra, as well as receiving the Undergraduate Achievement Award in Keyboard Studies. She also performed Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in the 2014 Concerto Competition at Ohio University, receiving an honorable mention.

She is an active member of the Music Teachers National Association, and is serving as the Vice President of Conferences and Recording Secretary for the Central East district of Ohio MTA for the 2020-2022 term. As a lecturer, her current areas of pedagogical research involve music teachers of the millennial generation, social justice in music teaching, and the arranging and teaching of video game music. Her presentation, The Millennial Music Teacher: What Sets Young Professionals Apart and What We Can Learn from Them, was given at the 2019 MTNA national conference in Spokane, Washington and at the International Music Education Summit in 2020. Her newest presentation, How Do We Tackle Cultural Appropriation in Classical Music for Students?, will be presented at the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in July of 2021.

As a freelance musician, she collaborates with worship centers as a choral accompanist and performs with instrumentalists in local school districts throughout the school year. From 2016 to 2020, she also maintained an online studio at the nationally recognized Centre for Musical Minds in Frisco, Texas, where she previously served as faculty advisor and led performance classes, beginner music camps, and other group enrichment courses.

Her other current artistic ventures include studying music producing with Ableton software, composing contemporary piano music, and arranging popular tunes for beginner through late intermediate pianists. She is working on her first collection of pattern-based pieces, the Wolfgang series, for publication later this year. It is inspired by her dog Wolfie and other furry friends who are loyal supporters of the arts.

"Lyrikos (LIR-i-kohs) is the Greek word for lyrical, and my studio name encompasses my entire view on teaching music. I believe each and every person is born with their own unique musical voice. From the very start, I meet the student where they are in terms of their learning needs, their interests, and their musical background. As a result, my child and adult students are well-rounded musicians with fluency in all styles of music... from classical to pop, jazz, and beyond.