About Us >> Our Founder
Rosanna Lee Buchs
Founder, Keys to Success
Music for a Lifetime
A native of Hong Kong, Rosanna Lee Buchs started taking piano lessons from her late father Samuel Lee Sum when she was four and began participating in many open piano competitions soon afterwards. Her musical journey was very much shaped by these early days with her father, where he achieved effective lessons while keeping the lesson fun and lively.
Rosanna received her Masters of Piano Performance at Boston University's School for the Arts, MA, in 2002. She studied with piano professor Tong-il Han, a learner of Rosina Lhevinne. She was a recipient of the School scholarship, and was also appointed as a teaching assistant in piano at the university.
Rosanna has served on the piano faculty of various schools- Manchester Community Music School in New Hampshire (2002-2004), Church Street School of Music (2004-2007), & United Nations International School (2007-2009). Every six months, she prepared over twenty students for recitals. She had prepared students for competitions, such as the Hong Kong Music Festivals. She has also prepared students for NYSMMA and is currently preparing some of her students for the ABRSM piano exams.
Rosanna has been teaching for over 29 years in both private and institutional settings. She has taught students as young as four years of age as well as adults students who simply want to experience the joy of piano playing.
Why do you teach piano?
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Learning the piano has taught me so much and has impacted many areas of my life. I believe how a student learns in the lesson directly impacts how he or she learns and manages outside of their lesson.
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One thing about the piano is that it can look rather intimidating. This is a parallel you can draw to other things in life.
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When a student first comes in contact with the piano and the overwhelming number of keys, they can feel intimidated.
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I enjoy teaching students in how to approach learning. When they realize that it is not as difficult as it seems and experience that they can do what they once thought was difficult, it is a very empowering experience.
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What is unique about your program?
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High quality lessons and high quality performances at the recital.
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As teachers, we not only address a student's playing. We teach our students how to perform. We help address any mental blocks they may experience as they approach the music. Very often, the results are almost immediate.
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We have seen students who were intimidated by the stage at first and were reluctant to perform. But overtime, we worked with them and showed them how to manage their stage fright. Now, they look forward to our bi-annual recitals and don’t think twice about getting on stage.
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What are you trying to create at Keys To Success?
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We’re trying to create quality learners and performers. We teach them to give their best in their lesson as well as in a performance environment no matter what their level of playing and musicianship.
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What proof do you have that your method works? What are the results a parent can see?
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We have families who have approached us after watching our recitals online telling us that they would like their child to perform as well as the students in our videos.
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I’ve seen many students whose confidence increase each time they perform. We don’t just throw them out in a recital and wish them well. We work with our students and show them how to perform in front of people.
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I’ve seen a student who was very shy and played quietly in her first piano performance. I worked with her in the lessons on how to combat that shyness and fear. In our recent winter recital, she not only played beautifully. The way she performed…she looked like she owned the stage. A couple of people commented that she played like a different person!
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Another example are two students, whom at their first recital, saw the stage and ran away. They said that they did not want to perform. I mentioned to them that they did not have to perform, but I asked them to come up to the stage together with me and check it out. I asked them to just try their pieces on the piano, and talked them through the process. A few minutes later, the recital began. I called their names, they mustered up their courage, got on the stage and played beautifully.
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Now, they don’t think twice about getting on the stage.
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