Constance Dvoretzky Piano Studio

Constance Dvoretzky

Location:

Teaches: and Music Theory

Constance Dvoretzky was born in Germany into a very musical family. Her father, Curt Peter Schwalbe, was a pianist, composer, and conductor. Her mother, Barbara Boettcher, was a top prize-winner in an international voice competition in Vienna, which led to contracts with major German opera companies. When the family immigrated to the United States, life continued to revolve around music.

After graduating from Saint Agnes Academy in Houston, Constance studied piano with Angel Ramon Rivera at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Three years later she accepted a full scholarship at the Longy School of Music, in Cambridge. There she studied with the former child prodigy and eminent concert pianist Lily Dumont, who had left Germany shortly before World War II. For seven summers, even after leaving the Boston area, Constance enrolled at the annual Southeastern Massachusetts University "Summer Music Festival", where she participated and performed in a piano seminar devoted to intensive study of just one composer per summer.

Returning to Houston because of family illness, Constance received a full scholarship to Houston Baptist University (HBU), where she studied with the Peruvian pianist and musicologist, Roberto Eyzaguirre, a former student of the famed pianist Claudio Arrau. In 1981, she was offered a teaching position at the Preparatory School of Music at HBU. She completed a Bachelor of Music degree with a Major in Piano Performance in 1982. She also earned her certification as a Kindermusik teacher at the University of Texas. She remained at HBU until 1994, teaching private piano lessons, group piano classes, and Kindermusik classes. After her father's death, she decided to open her own studio at 503 Brooks Street, Sugar Land, which had been the location of his former piano studio.

As an active member of Houston Music Teachers Association (HMTA) since 1981, Constance has participated in many capacities: event chairman and co-chairman; board member; committee member; program presenter; performer in teacher concerts; representative at Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA) Conventions; and delegate to International Piano Pedagogy Seminar. In 2001 she was presented with the HMTA Teacher of the Year Award. She received the HMTA Teacher Service Award in 2010. For the last thirty years, she has been in demand as a judge for local competitions, festivals, and auditions. During the school year, Constance attends workshops, presentations, master classes, and recitals to continually enrich her knowledge and expertise.

Constance's students have received local and state recognition for outstanding accomplishments in piano performance and music theory. Since 1981, an average of 98% of her students have earned medals at the annual TMTA Theory Test, with more than half of these students earning gold. They have also consistently received Superior Plus ratings in the National Guild of Piano Teachers annual auditions, as well as high scores and awards in local competitions, festivals, and other auditions. In 2016, her student Daniel Cheng won first place in the HMTA Concerto Competition, with the prize of performing with the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra.

Constance believes in a holistic approach to music, integrating a historical knowledge of musical style with technical development and a thorough understanding of music theory. Most importantly, she enthusiastically conveys her passion for music to her students and their families. She enjoys staying in touch with her former students, some of whom are now passing on their love of music to their own children. Through a comprehensive music education which goes beyond the piano lessons, Connie develops an appreciation of the arts in her students, thereby ensuring ongoing audiences for music and art in future generations.