Dr. Lara Saldanha considers teaching and performing to be symbiotic halves of her musical craft. She has spent the past decade teaching students at the pre-college level, and has taught post-secondary students for five years. As a piano pedagogue in New York City, Dr. Saldanha taught students from Mannes School of Music at The New School, Stonybrook University, and Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Dr. Saldanha believes that music lessons are an invaluable contribution to the educational and personal development of your child. Her pedagogy emphasizes teaching the process of craft, which can be applied to any disciple: deliberate practice, analytical thinking, active listening, time management, persistence, confidence, and public presentation. Dr. Saldanha places immediate emphasis on musical literacy, thus allowing your student to have full agency over their learning process. All students, regardless of age, will build their skills reading and understanding rhythmic and musical notation.

Dr. Saldanha values regular public performance as a means of providing extrinsic structure and motivation into lessons, as well as providing a platform for all students to build their experience in public presentation, directly correlating to each student’s ability to build their confidence in public speaking. Dr. Saldanha’s ultimate goal is to instill a curiosity for music that the student will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

As part of their learning process, Dr. Saldanha’s students participate in monthly studio classes and in-person recitals. Studio accomplishments include performances at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, admission to Luzerne Music Center and the Met Opera Children's Chorus, and successful passing scores for over 60 students who took the Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations.

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