Piano
A lifelong piano student, Jeffery Beaudry changed his career in 1994 from systems engineering to piano teaching and performance. He earned a Master's Degree in Piano Pedagogy from The Catholic University of America in 1998, writing a thesis about applications of computer technology to music instruction. Some of his performance and pedagogy teachers were Marilyn Neeley, Thomas Mastroianni, Loren Withers, and Barbara English Maris.
Mr. Beaudry enjoys teaching his adult students, whose musical curiosity often brings interesting new literature to the piano studio, e.g., songs of Americana by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, novelty songs by Zez Confrey, modern renditions of ragtime by William Bolcom, and piano works by the Russian-American futurist Leo Ornstein. Mr. Beaudry also enjoys working with young pre-reading students; he has invented games and puzzles to assist these youngest learners with their keyboard geography and staff reading. Of course, he also enjoys working with the many young students reading scores and mastering more advanced repertoire. Inspired in part by their musical experiences, some of his students have gone on to become an acoustic engineer, a sound designer, at least one professional musician, music educator, and a bass soloist for Yale University's elite a cappella singers "The Spizzwinks".
Mr. Beaudry teaches in Frederick, Maryland, which he calls home, as well as in Howard Co., MD, Montgomery Co., MD, and Washington, DC. He originally belonged to the DC area's Friday Morning Music Club as a student member in the 1980s. More recently, he has participated in FMMC as a Solo Piano performance member, presenting many solo and chamber pieces in recital as part of the Club's free concert series. He was also the FMMC's first vice president of auditions for three years. Mr.Beaudry is active in local music teachers' associations (MTAs), formerly serving as President of the Greater Laurel Music Teachers Association (GLMTA) and Treasurer of the Washington Music Teachers Association (WMTA). Currently, he chairs GLMTA's annual Composer's and Improviser's Circle for Maryland State Music Teachers Association (MSMTA), GLMTA's annual Laios Composition and Improvisation Festival, and WMTA's annual Adult Recital. Mr. Beaudry believes that his students' musical ideas are important in their own right, from the earliest days of music study; and that enjoying one's musical experience today is as important as achieving one's musical aspirations in the future.