Marlene Sampaio is a Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) Certified teacher and has been providing quality piano lessons to students of various ages and levels of playing since 2006.  Marlene is motivated by her love of teaching and her love of music.  She enjoys empowering students with the tools and opportunities to help them realize their musical goals and become fine musicians.

TEACHING STYLE

Whether teaching children or adults, Marlene believes in a balanced approach to teaching music.   Students are taught the curriculum of the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), "the standard excellence in music education in North America". However, expectations are kept in line with student goals and objectives.   

EXPERIENCE

Marlene started teaching while under the mentorship of her piano teacher, Mrs. Thelma Capps Morrison, co-founder of the Peel Music Festival, in 1988. Since then, Marlene has maintained a full-time home studio with students from all across the GTA, Halton and Eastern Ontario.

Marlene has prepared many students of various ages and levels of playing for RCM practical and theory examinations with successful results.  Many of her students have received awards for achieving the highest marks on his/her piano/theory RCM exams. Marlene has also prepared students achieve top grades in secondary school music programs and prepared students for music festivals throughout the greater Toronto area winning many awards. Marlene also prepares students for music auditions are various universities in Canada and the USA.

EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND

Marlene studied piano throughout junior high, high school and went to graduate from York University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree. Marlene is a Royal Conservatory of Music Certified Teacher. 

Marlene believes that one should aspire to be a lifelong learner and to continuously learn and improve oneself.  Marlene regularly attends professional development courses and webinars offered through the Royal Conservatory of Music, pedagogy seminars and workshops.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• Teaching Students with Learning Challenges with Larissa Zoubareva, October 26, 2020
• Transform Your Teaching, The Royal Conservatory, August 19 & 20, 2017
• Keyed up Piano Pedagogy Conference, March 5, 2016
• Excellence in Piano Teaching; Celebrating Innovation, Integration and Inspiration,  The Royal Conservatory, 2015
• Summer Summit: Inspired Teaching with Technology, The Royal Conservatory, July 12 & 13, 2014
• Transforming Music Education with Digital Tools, Queen's University, The Royal Conservatory, and CSLP, 2013-2014
• Teacher Professional Development Seminar, The Royal Conservatory, July 27 &, 28, 2013.
• iSCORE Pilot  Research Project,  Queen's University, The Royal Conservatory, 2012-2013
• Teacher Professional Development Seminar, The Royal Conservatory, April 30, 2011

AWARDS

Marlene was invited by Queen's University in partnership with The Royal Conservatory of Music and the Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance to participate in the iSCORE research study program 2012- 2014.  Marlene received the 2014 iSCORE teaching award from Queen's University in conjunction with The Royal Conservatory and Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance for her integration of iSCORE into her teaching practice.  Story featured in The Independent, published July 2014.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AFFILIATIONS

Marlene is a member of the Milton Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and an affiliate member of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers' Association (ORMTA).  Marlene volunteers at both the Biennial Milton Music Festival and ORMTA music festival as an assistant to the adjudicator. Marlene was also a member of the Research Committee at the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Renewed to 2023