Study with Ory Shihor
Classical Piano Instruction for Aspiring Young Pianists
New Students
Mr. Shihor is currently accepting new students who have reached intermediate, advanced or young artist playing levels.
To schedule a trial lesson with Mr. Shihor, please submit an inquiry form.
The trial lesson gives prospective students a chance to get to know Mr. Shihor's teaching style and see if it's the right fit for them.
Students should play repertoire that best represents their current ability. Playing by memory is not required.
One-time discounted fee: $150 (60 minutes)
Studio location: San Jose, CA 95125
Private Lessons
Studio classes
Private Lessons
Student Concerts
Student Achievements
Competitions
College Auditions
College Audition Preparation
OSI audition preparation package includes 6 college counseling sessions with Ory Shihor, guidance on school and teacher selection as well as on pre-screening audition video production (a value of $3600 a year).
The audition package is only available for students who have completed a minimum of 12 months of weekly private lessons with Mr. Shihor and have reached OSI Piano Level 9 or above.
“Our son Lucas has been studying piano with Ory for about 3 years and a half. Since then, we have had a wonderful journey, together with Ory and his wife, Maria, at every step of the way. When we started looking for a new piano teacher for Lucas, Ory’s name came to us with high recommendation through many channels. At that time, Lucas had studied piano for 3 years and had felt that he was quite behind his peers. Naturally, making the initial contact was very intimidating because of Ory’s stature as both a performing artist and an educator. We still remember the disbelief on Lucas’s face when Ory responded to our inquiry and offered to hear Lucas’s playing! Ory uses impressive high-tech equipment for highly effective teaching both in and out of the “classroom”. What is more, however, is Ory’s unique approach to teaching and Lucas’s growth as a musician and as a person.
Ory is very attentive to Lucas as both a pianist and an intellectual scholar. For music education, Ory not only teaches techniques at their highest standard but also explores together with Lucas on different ways to create beautiful sounds. Ory does not “force” a curriculum but carefully manages lessons to guide Lucas, affording him both great freedom and solid stepping in carving his own path to progress. The teaching also goes beyond just playing the notes on piano. They engage each other with very interesting dialogues on all kinds of topics: anecdotes of musicians, the zeitgeists of past and present, political and cultural events. We have always felt that learning music makes a better person. We have found Ory and his teaching have been such a blessing that provide the sources for both.
In the short 3 years, Lucas has made tremendous progress as a pianist, with the recent honor of becoming a 2022 YoungArts Award Winner and acceptance to Juilliard! But perhaps more importantly, his passion and love for music remains strong, which is precisely what we hope for to accompany his life. We recommend Ory most enthusiastically to young artists who thrive on the excellence of learning and who are passionate about pursuing their lifetime dreams.”
— Fei Sha and Ping Liu, parents of Lucas Sha
Lucas Sha 17yo - Acceptance to Juilliard BM in Piano Performance and Brown University
“Studying with Mr. Shihor not only has allowed me to pursue my dreams, but also changed my life. His ever-growing attention to style, precision, and delicacy has brought to my music colors that I would have never imagined if it were not for his unprecedented teaching. I cannot thank Mr. Shihor enough for the 9 years of guiding me and my music and for making it possible for me to get accepted to the Curtis Institute of Music!”
Ray Ushikubo 16yo - Acceptance to Curtis and Juilliard BM in Piano Performance with full scholarship
“It’s very hard to explain with words how grateful I am to Mr. Shihor for the past four years studying with him. There are too many things that in my opinion stand out in his teaching, but I think I should at least mention these two. The first one is his unconditional belief in the student’s abilities and his commitment to make the most of those abilities no matter what it takes. Often he believed in me more than I did myself, and kept demanding and encouraging the highest level in pieces without exception. This is grounded on the second aspect – he can justify that belief because he knows how to make that potential a reality through extraordinary attention to detail, ear and musical intuition.
The most remarkable thing which I’ve noticed, however, is his ability to point out exactly the things that I need but that I’m not yet hearing in the music, to let that piece develop to a next level that I could not imagine before the lesson, and that sometimes I was not even aiming for to start with, because I didn’t know it was possible for me. I just didn’t know how to reach that level and he helped me every time without fail. His commitment before specific important events (such as the competitions I’ve entered) has been incredible, giving many, many hours a week that I needed to be as prepared as possible. As a result, I always surpassed my expectations in those events.
If I look back to those four years in a bigger scale I can see how much Mr. Shihor has helped me find and develop my technique, my ear and my musical and pianistic personality. On top of that he is a wonderful human being and mentor, a very kind person and someone whom I feel I can always turn to. The value of these four years is incredibly important in my life!
Albert Cano Smit 20yo - Acceptance to Juilliard and Yale MM in Piano Performance with full scholarship
“Three years of study with Mr. Shihor has totally changed my understanding and increased my love of music dramatically. He patiently guides me with his wonderful musical ideas and concepts. The improvements and achievements I made during these 3 years are way beyond my imagination. It is truly an amazing experience studying with Mr.Shihor. Without his teaching and guidance, it’d not be possible for me to get accepted into my dream school, Juilliard. I am extremely thankful to him for all the work and effort he has done for me.”
Jimmy Shen 17yo - Acceptance to Juilliard BM in Piano Performance with scholarship
“I started taking lessons with Mr. Shihor about 3 years ago and am eternally grateful because I have grown tremendously. This September, I will be attending the Royal Academy of Music with a full scholarship! One of my biggest insecurities when I first started studying with Mr. Shihor, was my technique. Within my first lesson, he already corrected the way I sat at the piano which changed the amount and the quality of sound I produced. Mr. Shihor pushed me to learn a lot of repertoire, without over stressing me. He has helped me reach my full potential through support and honesty. Mr. Shihor is such a positive force, I have never feared that he would be angry with how I played. Disappointed? Yes, but I strongly believe that is important to one’s growth. I never want to disappoint him with my playing; when you have a teacher that is effectively doing their job, you want to do nothing less than pleasing them. They don’t have to yell at you or be mean to you to get you to practice because if they are doing it right, you will naturally want to meet their standards. Studying with Mr. Shihor has opened so many opportunities for me, has helped me find the sound I want to create, has raised my confidence in my playing, and has shown that I am capable. I am so thankful for Mr. Shihor.”
Millicent McFall 17yo - Acceptance to Royal Academy of Music (UK) BM in Piano Performance with full scholarship
“Mr. Shihor is a wonderful, warm and understanding teacher. I definitely feel improvements in my playing, especially enhancement in my confidence as a musician. Before I moved to CA and started my lesson with Mr. Shihor, I was studying in Moscow, where I’ve always had very strict and cold teachers and developed extreme anxiety playing in front of people. Mr. Shihor was able to generate a very friendly and relaxed atmosphere, where, a little by little, I came out of my shell and now have no problems playing in public! In addition, Mr. Shihor was very helpful with my college application including pre-screening video recordings and advising regarding schools and teachers. With Mr. Shihor’s guidance and mentorship, I got accepted t o all of the schools I’ve auditioned for! I’ve also received scholarships covering 75%-80% of the tuition! I am very grateful that I had an opportunity to study with such a great teacher!”
Kamilla Bendersky - Acceptance to Boston University MM in Piano Performance
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