Meet our Teachers:
We believe that quality teachers are essential to quality instruction. All of our teachers are certified Yamaha Instructors. To become certified, teachers must pass comprehensive exams and undergo over 100 hours of training. In addition, teachers are continually evaluated by Yamaha and, as curricula is updated, teachers receive updated training. All of our teachers have or are in the process of obtaining college music degrees.
Tina Darden
Tina Darden, a graduate of Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, has a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance/Pedagogy. She is also a graduate of Florida State University, where she earned her Master of Music in Piano Performance/Pedagogy. Tina has been teaching the Yamaha method in Atlanta since 1992. As a Yamaha Music Education Specialist since 2002, she has helped train dozens of other Yamaha teachers. Tina teaches Yamaha classes at Atlanta Music Education Center and teaches private piano lessons at New School of Music. She is the pianist for McKendree United Methodist Church in Lawrenceville. Tina is an active member of GCMTA and GMTA.
Suellen Stroup
Suellen Stroup, pictured with her family, has a degree in Music Education with a proficiency in voice and a minor in piano. She has taught piano and voice since 1994 and Yamaha since 2000. In addition, she is a certified Kindermusik teacher and has taught it since 1999.
Tsuey Wei Seah
Tsuey Wei Seah holds a Bachelors of Music degree with summa cum laude from Kennesaw State University, where she earned a double major in piano performance and music education under Professor David Watkins. Seah was the Georgia Music Hall of Fame talent search scholarship winner, the Georgia Music Educators Association piano division competition first place winner, and the winner of the Kennesaw State University concerto competition. Other awards include KSU University Scholar, the GMEA College Music Education Scholarship, the Steinway Society Scholarship, and the Georgia Music Teacher Association Outstanding Performer. She has performed in master classes with international pianist Chu-Fang Huang, Christopher Hardings, Robert Henry, Michael Kim, and more. Seah is a lifetime member of Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society and she prepares students for the ABRSM examinations and various auditions.
Julie Smith
Julie Smith, a native of Stone Mountain, GA, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Georgia College and State University with a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance in 2008. A recent graduate of Florida State University with her Master’s in Piano Pedagogy under the direction of Dr. Victoria McArthur, she has been teaching private lessons for four years and group piano lessons for children for one year. Julie was inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda national music honorary society and has been a member of the Music Teachers National Association since 2007. She has adjudicated piano competitions at the Pensacola, FL, Sonata Competition and at the Alabama MTA Pre-College State Piano Auditions.