Katie Gueorguieva-Ledford, M.M.

  

EDUCATION:

M. M., Piano Performance, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 1999

B.A., Piano and Music Theory, State Academy of Music, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1994

HONORS AND AWARDS:

Three Sponsors' Prize - Tokyo International Duo Piano Competition,Tokyo,Japan, 2003

Distinguished Musician Diploma - Ibla Grand Prize Music Competition,Ibla,Italy, 2003

Silver Graduation Medal -Sofia High School of Music, 1988

Katie Gueorguieva-Ledford has been teaching piano in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1998, and has been a member of the Music Teachers’ Association of California since 2002. She accepts students as young as 5 years and above. First and foremost, Katie's goal is to teach her students the enjoyment of music! Her methods are tailored to each individual student, child or adult, to make sure that they are enjoying the time they spend to make music. At the same time she attends to the development of their specific musical talents, fulfillment of their artistic goals, and expanding of their musical culture. Katie incorporates music theory in the lessons to ensure in-depth understanding of the musical material. She encourages her most committed students to take the tests of MTAC's Certificate of Merit Evaluation Program, or the ABRSM Music Evaluations.

A number of Katie Gueorguieva-Ledford's students have won prizes in prestigious music competitions, including the US Open Music Competition,  the CMTANC Youth Music Competition, the  Bradshaw-Buono International Piano Competition, the American Protege International Music Competition, and the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition,  and have performed at the world renowned Carnegie Hall in New York, NY, and at the historically acclaimed Mozarteum Hall in Salzburg, Austria.

Born in Sofia,Bulgaria, Katie Gueorguieva-Ledford started learning the piano at the age of five. At the State Academy of Music she studied under Prof. Tihomira Bachvarova, a graduate of Moscow Conservatory of Music. In 1997 she was admitted to the Graduate Piano Performance Program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she received the Liberace Foundation Scholarship. There she studied with Prof. Mack McCray, a graduate of Juilliard School of Music, and an acclaimed concert pianist. She also participated in a number of music festivals, including the Brevard Music Festival inBrevard,NC, in 1997 and 1998, and the Alfred Cortot Ecole Normale School of Music Seminar inParis,France, in 2002. She has played in master classes for distinguished pianists as John Perry, Michael Kim, and Andre Watts.

An active piano performer ever since her debut recital in Sofia at the age of eleven, Katie has appeared in numerous recitals, both as a soloist and as astarted a collaboration with pianist Judy Huehn. Together they founded the Veda Piano Duo, which went on to publish a Compact Disc, win prizes in International Music Competitions, and take an active part in the concert life of the Bay Area.

Katie is committed to excellence in both piano technique and artistic interpretation. She brings to students of all ages the benefits of her training and experience, as well as deep love for the piano.