Elise Chen is a passionate and dedicated piano teacher and accompanist. She graduated with BMus (Hon) with First Class Honours at the University of Auckland major in Classical Performance under the tutelage of renowned pedagogue Rae de Lisle. Elise began her piano studies at the age of six, since then she has won numerous awards at local competitions in New Zealand including first prizes in the Auckland Performing Arts Competitions (SAPAC, NSPAC, IRMT). During her study at the University of Auckland, she was awarded the Anna Nathan Prize in Early Keyboard Music, Janetta McStay Prize for Pianists and a First in Course Award.
Over the past few years, she has collaborated with various singers and instrumentalists. During her education in high school and university, she frequently accompanied the school choir and played in chamber music groups. In 2019 & 2020, her chamber music group was selected to play in the final of Auckland Chamber Music Society Concert. She has also played as accompanist in a performance at the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall in New York, USA.
An enthusiastic learner, Elise has participated in many performance masterclasses and pedagogical seminars. She has participated in the Wallace International Piano Festival 2018 and the annual International Maestro Piano Festival held in Taipei 2019 & 2020. She was taught in masterclasses given by acclaimed pianists such as Michael Houstoun, Robert Levin, Douglas Humphreys, Ilana Vered, Michael Tsalka, Yoshikazu Nagai, Alvaro Teixeira Lopes and Yaron Kolhberg.
Elise aspired to foster student’s imagination and creativity in the music lessons. She began teaching in her first year of university and found incredible joy teaching children. Her teaching has received many positive feedback. Her students frequently achieved great success in local competitions. Elise is a fluent speaker of Mandarin and English, the lesson can be taught in either language.