Piano Lessons
Our Teachers:
Wendy Estorga
Wendy (Huckins) Estorga has been teaching piano for over 21 years. She began playing at age 5, as her mother was a piano teacher and saw her love and passion for music. She began to sing as soon as she could talk and started writing her own music in junior high. Wendy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Theory and Composition from Azusa Pacific University in 2001. She has had a varied set of musical experiences, ranging from writing and recording her own CD, to traveling the U.S. singing in a band, leading worship for churches and retreat centers, working as the accompanist for junior high and high school choirs in Aptos and Soquel, recording lead and background vocals for several outside projects, and many other exciting endeavors! Wendy enjoys using a creative approach to her teaching style. She believes in giving students a good technical foundation, and also looks for ways to motivate each student according to his or her musical interests and goals. She uses a combination of note reading, theory and ear training to give her students a well-rounded understanding of music.
Wendy lives in Gilroy with her husband Abrem and their two children. They love to play every sport under the sun, and have “family band” time together - where everyone chooses an instrument, picks a song, and goes to town!
Irina Smolyakova
Irina Smolyakova received a Master of Arts degree in Music, with honors, from California State University, Fresno, where she studied piano under professor Andreas Werz. Irina has participated in numerous piano master classes with such distinguished artists and educators as Markus Groh, Vahan Mardirossian, Elena Kuschnerova, Vardan Mamikonian, Giuseppe Andaloro, Biljana Urban and Jon Nakamatsu. She was the winner of the 2009 and 2015 Fresno State Concerto Competition which resulted in performances as soloist in Schumann’s Piano Concerto and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Fresno State Symphony Orchestra. In the spring of 2010 she was featured in the Young Artist Spotlight on the KVPR radio station. Irina has given solo recitals at Gavilan College and Porterville Community College. She has also performed as a guest pianist at the Marian Filice Youth Piano Competition at Gavilan College and at the MTAC (Music Teachers Association of California) meeting in the Valley Music Center. She was a finalist in the 2012 Kruschke Piano Competition, a system-wide event of the California State University held at CSU, Chico. Irina performs regularly as an orchestral pianist, and she has performed with the Fresno Philharmonic, Modesto Symphony and Monterey Symphony Orchestra. She maintains a private piano studio and collaborates with musicians in various chamber music groups.
Gerri Alexander
Gerri Alexander graduated from Indiana University. She has also studied at Carnegie Mellon University and Duquesne University with Madame Else Stockman of the Liszt Conservatory. On the West Coast, she has coached with Adolph Baller at Stanford University and Julian White at Berkeley. Ms. Alexander gives duo and solo performances, in addition to playing with the Alexander Piano Trio, which she started in 2001.
Gerri teaches beginning to advanced students and offers all genres of piano repertoire, including vocal and string accompaniment and chamber music literature. Besides teaching her students piano technique and principles of music theory, Ms. Alexander teaches performance confidence and helps her students improve their organizational skills. She is strongly committed to influencing each child's personal growth in a positive way, with emphasis on developing the child's self-confidence. As part of this approach, each child is instructed individually, at his or her own pace.
Lyudmyla Smolyakova
Lyudmyla Smolyakova is a classical pianist, song writer, and composer. 1984 Master of Arts degree in piano pedagogy and performance from Minsk State Teacher's Training University.
1980 Bachelor's degree in piano performance.
Daugavpils Music College in Latvia.
Lyudmyla started playing piano at the age of 6. Her first piano teacher was her grandmother who was a talented pianist and an actress. This was the time when she began to develop love for composing. She wrote her first piano pieces, Song and Waltz, which she dedicated to her parents and her grandmother. Following in her footsteps , her daughter Irina, is also an accomplished pianist , accompanist and holds a Masters Degree in piano.
Throughout her career Lyudmyla has recorded four albums: three song albums and one piano solo album. Her first album, "Snow Maiden", was recorded in America, and the other two "If to Believe" and "Waves" were recorded in Moscow, Russia. Her piano album, "The Wings of Love" was recorded in 2014 at Highland studio in California.
Lyudmyla teaches a variety of styles from classical to popular music and has over 25 years of teaching experience. From Bach to Beethoven, or a popular song of their favorite artist, she can help your child enjoy the benefits of music and studying the piano.
Acoustic Guitar/Banjo lessons are also available at Gilroy Piano Outlet.
Group Piano lessons are available.
Contact us and we will have a teacher call or email you.