Dr. Maria Guenette's Music Studio

Canadian-born pianist, Dr. Maria Mika Guénette began her formal studies at the age of eight and made her solo piano debut, at the age of fourteen, with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she appeared in numerous solo and collaborative performances in Canada, USA, Japan and Austria, including appearances on public radio stations such as CBC, NHK and WDAV. She currently maintains an active performing career, serving as keyboardist for the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and as adjunct faculty collaborative pianist at Southern Methodist University.

Maria’s skills have afforded her the opportunity to study around the world. At the world-renowned Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, she was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts degree specializing in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music with a minor in Baroque Performance Practice, as well as a Master of Music degree in Harpsichord Performance. Maria possesses a Baccalaureate of Music in Piano Performance with a minor in violin, at the University of Ottawa under the tutelage of Paris Conservatory-trained Jean-Paul Sevilla. While there, she was a winner of the University of Ottawa’s Concerto Competition, as well as several academic and merit scholarships, including the Joseph-Marie Quirion Faculty of Arts Scholarship. In November 2007, Maria returned to the University of Ottawa to perform a solo piano recital for their Alumni Concert Series. Her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance was made possible with an all-inclusive grant by the Japanese Government (Monbusho) to pursue her studies at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku) where she studied with Dr. Takejiro Hirai of the Julliard School.

Dr. Guénette is currently senior examiner for The Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program. She was previously on faculty at Tyler Junior College, University of Texas at Tyler, Winston-Salem State University, Greensboro College and the North Carolina School of the Arts.