Felicia Lohidajat, NCTM

Early Years

• Began continuous classical piano training at age 3.

• Brief stint of 4 years on violin during elementary school.

• Frequently performed in recitals and a wide variety of piano exams including National Guild, ABRSM, and MTNA's local+state exams including Connie Murray Festival and Dorothy Sutton Festival.

Pre-Collegiate Training

• Switched teachers to Elaine Friedlander and reconstructed extremely foundational pianistic technique at ages 14-16 while working through advanced repertoire.

• Continued to frequently perform in recitals and piano exams, achieving higher levels of performance.

• Performed solo programs at a variety of nursing homes.

Academia Era: Bachelor of Music - Piano Performance

• GPA 3.677, Magna Cum Laude, Dean's List. Minor in Music History.

• Alta M. Ketner Music Scholarship and Lloyd C. Mitchell Piano Scholarship recipient.

• Served as Treasurer, Secretary, and Sustainability Officer [in seperate years] during MTNA Collegiate Chapter membership.

• Independent Study in Early Baroque Style Continuo Improvisation.

• Presented Historically Informed Performance in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque styles in the Collegium Musicum Early Music Ensemble on Viola da Gamba [Bass & Tenor] and Harpsichord, improvising on figured bass.

• Premiered works by new composers.

• Extensive vocal and instrumental accompanying experience as a collaborative pianist.

Extracurriculars During B. M.

• Began teaching in 2013 and pursued continuous self-improvement through psychology and pedagogy research to refine teaching methodology.

Academia Era: Master of Music - Piano Performance

• GPA 3.932.

• Connie Murray Music Scholarship recipient.

• Continued participation in the Collegium Musicum Ensemble.

• Began repertoire divergence from standard assignments during Master's Degree to explore Spanish Classical music.

• Premiered works by new composers.

• Served as President and Webmaster [simultaneously] during MTNA Collegiate Chapter membership, including performing the bulk of the paperwork and material presentation to revive the collegiate professional organization.

• Occasionally tutored fellow music majors taking required piano classes, with remarkable and immediate results.

Extracurriculars During M. M.

• Performed an independently-arranged non-requirement recital in April 2019 heavily featuring music from Russia and Spain and cultural touchpoints between.

• Performed another independently-arranged non-requirement recital in Jan 2020 sharing a timeslot with friend/colleague Benjamin Faehl.

• Began ramping up professional involvement in MLMTA [Main Line Music Teachers Association] and took over as Webmaster and IT Support, single-handedly pulling the local private piano teacher population into the 21st century by updating old systems for events, communication, and festival organization. 

• When COVID hit, taught other members about audio technology, both hardware and software, for running remote piano lessons.

• Passed ABRSM Exam Level 8 Piano with Distinction without outside guidance or coaching.

Post-Academic Exploration and Reformation

• Having performed a graduate recital on Dec 5, 2020, began streaming on Twitch Dec 9, 2020.

• Twitch Streaming allowed an exploration of all styles of music at all levels of difficulty, which enabled a continuous and rapid self-led improvement in classical technique, ergonomic awareness, and music reading skills.

• This medium also enabled a self-imposed expansion of improvisational abilities, taking the aforementioned Figured Bass training in the Baroque classical style and applying it to every other style, including pop/rock, anime, and video game music.

• Optionally pursued MTNA Certification, completing a 5-part portfolio equivalent of a doctorate, proving musical proficiency, understanding, and thoughtful teaching, to qualify as a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music.

• Served as Connie Murray Festival Chairperson for MLMTA for three years, and in that time, pursued groundbreaking reformations on increasing accessibility by introducing video submissions and eliminating the memorization requirement.

• Presented an independently-researched seminar to MLMTA members on the subject of Neurodivergent Pedagogy, providing an understanding of the value of accessibility in education and easy ways to improve it.