Teacher Profile: Elise Levesque
About Elise Levesque
Elise Levesque is a Florida Native and got started in piano lessons when she was in second grade in the Metropolitan Orlando area. She took piano lessons through grade school and college and had two wonderful piano instructors that nurtured her love of music and creativity which caused her to want a career in the music business. Her parents were both wedding singers and they met playing guitar while performing at a wedding in Tallahassee, Florida at FSU. Elise was born in the early 90s and was named after the famous classical piece Fur Elise by Beethoven. Elise's parents exposed her to music of all kinds since birth, especially acoustic music, church worship, and classical music performance. Elise received a full-ride scholarship to college based on music and academic performance in 2009 and maintained principal honors while studying masters piano and music theory classes at Valencia College in Florida. She continues her parents' and former piano teachers' legacy and has found purpose and passion in teaching kids of all ages how to understand music fundamentals and piano playing.
Elise went to a performing arts music magnet school at Dr. Phillips High School where she honed her musical talent and competed in All-State Chorus, Piano Performance, and many concerts throughout the school year. She won a national songwriting contest in her senior year of High School and continues to write music to this day. Notably, she toured in Europe the summer of her junior year of High School and showcased her talent in seven countries including France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland. She was the lead role of Christine in Phantom of the Opera during her college years at Valencia and performed in piano and voice at weddings, celebrations, and classical honorable ceremonies from that time on. The bulk of her performing experience has been at various churches such as Family Church in Windermere, First Orlando, Belong in College Park, and Thrive Church in Lake Nona. Since 2019, she has ventured into the local Orlando music scene and found herself at both Irish and local restaurant venues as a singer/songwriter and cover artist with an emphasis on the piano and occasionally backed up by a full band. She enjoys her Classical Piano Background and infuses it into popular music that audiences know and love including the Beatles, the 80s, 90s, and today's music. She was chosen to perform poetry with a musical twist at the renowned Grand Bohemian Hotel the week leading up to Valentine's Day in 2019. You may find her at an open mic around town performing with other musicians, enjoying the community support and being inspired by others to continue keeping the music alive!
Elise began teaching piano in 2017 when she wanted to see her childhood dream career realized. She was offered an opportunity by a local piano teacher friend to work at Heritage Preparatory School in Ocoee, FL, where she taught up until COVID-19 in 2020. With over 55 students in just one week to teach piano, she was able to find the ultimate curriculum, teaching style, and books that captured the attention of her students. She was able to specialize in early elementary age groups including 4-year-olds to 12-year-olds since she taught K-8th grade there. Later she taught in local music schools, where she honed in the 12 to 18-year-old teaching and made sure that the older beginners and intermediate to advanced players stayed interested and motivated by learning current songs they enjoy as well as learning songs from standard method books. She currently resides in the Orlando Metrowest area and teaches throughout Orlando with Lessons in Your Home.
Elise has a very fun and modern approach to the piano lessons that she teaches. She believes every child has a unique set of natural talents and interests that she can learn to identify and implement in her lessons to ensure a holistic approach to piano lessons. She has worked with kids on the Spectrum and kids with physical disabilities and emotional issues, and has made it her goal to teach without discrimination and empower each child to learn piano and music to their fullest potential. She wants parents to be involved in their child's music education, to encourage and inspire them to achieve a sense of accomplishment and pride, knowing an invaluable skill of understanding music that will last them a lifetime! Elise's philosophy is that with a good amount of dedication and discipline, each student will receive effective practice habits, excellent technique/analysis skills in the music, and have successful lessons! She believes it is also important to become friends with each family, smile, play games, make jokes, and enjoy the process. Let the music begin!