Teacher Profile: Megan McElroy
About Megan McElroy
Megan started gravitating towards her parent's piano at age 3, and after starting lessons she found that it would lead her on a lifelong musical journey. She has been a professional pianist and accompanist in the Seattle area since 2010, working in a wide range of musical settings and with a diverse group of musicians.
In addition to her love for piano music, Megan has always been enamored with the entire realm of classical music; the world of strings, woodwinds, brass, voice and their corresponding symphonic, vocal and operatic repertoires. In high school, she enjoyed playing viola and participating in Seattle’s Garfield High School orchestra, as well as playing chamber music. She soon realized that making music with others was a favorite musical activity. After graduating from University of North Texas with a Bachelors in Piano Performance, she decided to pursue the area of collaborative piano and went on to earn her Masters in Collaborative Piano from University of Colorado-Boulder, studying under some of the top pedagogical figures in that field. She learned how to communicate and work with every instrument in the orchestra from vibraphone to violin, playing a full schedule of recitals with soloists and concerts with large choral groups and opera productions.
Since moving back to Seattle, Megan has worked as a freelance pianist and collaborator for music schools, private teachers, and all ages of musicians from children to adults. She has held staff pianist positions at University of Washington School of Music and Seattle Pacific University. Organizations she has played for include the Seattle Suzuki Institute, NW Boys Choir, Seattle Flute Society, Northwest Trumpet Arts, Pacific Northwest Opera, Seattle Young Artists Music Festival, and Bellevue School of Music. She has appeared many times on Seattle’s NW Focus Live broadcast on King FM 98.1 with featured guest artists.
Because of her focus on music beyond the piano as an instrument, Megan brings a fun and interesting approach to teaching piano lessons and is interested in finding wider inspirations in music. These may include discussing the lyrics to a song, learning about how singing influences all the music we make, or where a piano piece in a beginning method book comes from and its history. She enjoys focusing on what kind of music a student gets excited and passionate about and views the piano as a perfect solo instrument on its own as well as an amazing vehicle to appreciate every kind of music, whether classical, jazz, pop, or any other genre.
Apart from her life with the piano, Megan’s interests include her cat, Marta, stand up paddle boarding any Puget Sound waters she can set float on, current top 40 radio, reading poetry, classic jazz from the Blue Note era, attending local music shows from classical, open mic to country, and practicing her singing vocals/slowly trying to learn more chords on the guitar.