karine vann

I have always been drawn, like a magnet, to the piano. This fact was clear when I was 5 years old, living in a compound in Saudi Arabia where my father was stationed for work, and my mother purchased a small keyboard on which I experimented endlessly with melody, rhythm and sound. I’d spend entire afternoons learning songs by ear on karaoke setting, changing the timbres, and creating my own melodies. Thanks to a kindly neighborhood teacher, I quickly learned how to read and write music, and my obsession blossomed.

As with all great loves, there were highs and lows. Upon returning to the states, I spent the next decade studying piano at the Levine School of Music in the Washington DC area. During this time, I was trained in a strictly classical method, in which all creative energy is focused on interpreting the works of great Western composers. (Sadly, I would not improvise again until college.) Regardless, I progressed and in high school, attended the Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute’s summer music program. I went on to pursue my undergraduate degree in piano at IU’s Jacobs School of Music, where I had the good fortune to study piano technique with Dr. Reiko Neriki. During this time, I also completed a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a certificate in Neuroscience.

In my final year at IU, I made the wonderful decision to study piano pedagogy with Karen Taylor, a renowned teacher of pre-college piano and founder of the prestigious Piano Academy summer program. Her critiques of traditional approaches to teaching piano struck me as familiar. They paralleled some of my own experiences: the emphasis on learning music visually with little emphasis on developing aural skills, the lack of historical and cultural context, the abstract instruction of music theory, the disdain for all popular music, and the near total absence of improvisation and genuine creativity at the keyboard. I felt compelled to teach that I might try a more progressive approach.

Upon graduation, I started a small piano studio in the Northern Virginia area, consisting of students ages 5 to 17. I also enrolled in a Master’s degree in piano pedagogy at George Mason University on scholarship. During this time, I started studying jazz and improvisation with prominent DC jazz pianist Wade Beach. The drive towards improvisation and original composition was sparked anew through my study of jazz.

In 2013, I traveled to Armenia for the first time. The experience of exploring my ancestral roots and witnessing the state of the country shook me. I left the pedagogy course, and thanks to a scholarship from the Armenian government, got my Master’s in Musicology at the University of Oxford.

A long and winding road then ensued that took me from Yerevan to New York City to Boston, during which time, I acquired an interest in organic farming, which brought me finally to the Napa Valley in 2022, where I now live with my husband and our two young sons, Tigran and Levon.

In the summer of 2022, I started Janapar Piano Studio, a boutique piano studio of about 20 pre-college students that focuses on cultivating practical musical skills and developing every child’s “inner ear.” “Janapar” (pronounced jah-nah-par) is an Armenian word, which translates to "path" or "journey" in English. I like the imagery the word conjures, as I view piano lessons to be one pathway into a whole world of music. This journey will look different for everyone and I hope to be a guide as students navigate exciting and challenging new ways of listening, thinking, moving, and feeling.

In addition to teaching, I perform locally. My most recent project is a collaboration with Lebanese-Armenian vocalist and duduk player, Khatchadour Khatchadourian, called Barbar Band. For the last three years, I have also lead a weekly music class for pre-K children at Nature’s Way Montessori, where I am continually fascinated at the role music plays in childhood development. And most recently, I have taken on leading 3rd and 4th grade choir at the Stone Bridge School, a local Waldorf charter school in Napa. In my (very rare) spare time, I enjoy being with my kids, gardening, and tackling new instruments, like the guitar and the accordion.