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Update on the page: Our Facilities

Lepskaya’s School of Music

Lepskaya’s School of Music is located in the downtown area of Park Ridge, a small suburb of Chicago, IL.

The school is within walking distance of the Park Ridge Public Library and City Hall. We are also strategically placed on the corner of Main Street and Touhy in the midst of the main shopping area in Park Ridge.

While classes are in progress, parents are welcome to wait in one of our two waiting areas, or take a stroll through downtown. Parents may also want to take a short walk to two city parks if the younger siblings prefer to play outside while their older brothers or sisters are taking a lesson.

Ample free parking is available in immediate vicinity of Lepskaya’s School of Music, both on the street as well as around the corner next to the Children’s Book Store, which is located in the same building as the School of Music.

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History of Our Location

Park Ridge IL, where we are located, is a Chicago suburb approximately 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Park Ridge celebrated its centennial year in 2010. 
The town began its existence as a main location where brick was made for the city of Chicago, thus giving it the name Brickton at one point in its existence. Park Ridge is a vibrant community, offering its residents a rich academic environment with multiple private schools, as well as numerous parks and community facilities. Park Ridge is also the hometown of the former first lady of the United States and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 
Park Ridge prides itself on being an artistic town. Our School of Music hopes to become one of the community’s artistic centers, where the talents of Park Ridge residents can be nourished and developed. To learn more about Park Ridge IL, please click here.

Our Musical Ancestry

In order to understand the full benefits the piano students will receive through the instruction of our piano teaching staff, one must understand the history and the tradition of teaching and performing classical piano music. Lepskaya’s School of Music is the current generation of teachers and performers whose training can be traced directly back to Beethoven.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770 and died in 1827 in Vienna, Austria. From an early age Ludwig’s father made him practice from dawn until dusk. Beethoven’s father wanted to make Ludwig a virtuoso, just as Mozart’s father did. In addition to practicing on the clavier (modern piano), Ludwig learned how to play violin, and also began composing his own music. Presently, Beethoven is considered to be one of the best composers that ever lived. To learn more about Beethoven please click here.

Carl Czerny

In his older age, Beethoven had students, one of whom was Carl Czerny (1791-1857), Austrian composer and teacher. Upon hearing Carl Czerny, when Carl was only 10 years old, Beethoven was so impressed with young Czerny that he offered to take him as a private student. Carl Czerny became a great performer and concentrated on creating thousands of compositions, which are called etudes (piano studies), to help develop a strong technique of piano playing. These studies focus on the main elements which classical music consists of: scales, arpeggios, chords, etc. Czerny studies present such valuable input in developing the correct technique that from the moment of their creation until the present, every piano student must study these compositions as part of their curriculum.

Ferenz Liszt

Ferenz Liszt


One of the most celebrated students of Carl Czerny was Ferenz Liszt. Ferenz Liszt was born in 1811 and died in 1886. He was a Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist just as his piano “father”Carl Czerny and his piano “grandfather”Ludwig van Beethoven were.

Liszt became an unrivaled reigning king of classical piano, performing and composing constantly throughout his life. He attained “rock star”status in the 19th century.

The only composer who could rival with Liszt in the composition field was Polish-born pianist Frederic Chopin.

Theodor Leschetizky

Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915), who lived in Dresden, was also a Polish pianist and composer. Just as Beethoven, Czerny, and Liszt, Leshetizky was recognized as a piano virtuoso at an early age. Leszetizky was also a student of Czerny. In addition to being a composer and pianist, he was also a great teacher. He taught at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, which he co-founded with the famous Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein.

Later on, Leschetizky taught in Vienna, just as Beethoven and Czerny did in their time.  One of his many students was Vassily Safonoff. To find out more about Leschetizky please click here.

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Vasily Safonoff

Vasily Safonoff, another Russian pianist and composer, was born in 1852 and died at the outbreak of the second Russian Revolution in 1918. Becoming a director of the Moscow Conservatory in Russia in 1889, Safonoff became one of the most prominent teachers in Russia. Safonoff’s musical grandfather, just as Leschtizky’s musical grandfather, remains Ludwig van Beethoven. To find out more about Safonoff, please  click here.

Among the roster of brilliant pianists and composers that Safonoff taught were: Alexander Scriabin, Nikolai Medtner, Josef Lhevinne, and Rosina Bessie (later Lhevinne).

Rosina Bessie Lhevinne

Professor Rosina Bessie Lhevinne was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1880 and died in Glendale, California in 1976.

Professor Lhevinne graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1898 winning the gold medal for her graduating year. She was also a professor at the Julliard School of Music for more than half of her life. Lhevinne became the most valued and brilliant teacher in the history of the Julliard School of Music. One of her most noted students was classical concert pianist Van Cliburn. Van Cliburn won 1st place in the International Moscow Tchaikovksy competition in 1958. Rosina’s musical great grandfather, Ludwig van Beethoven, is three musical generations away from his talented daughter.

Professor Donald Walker

One of Rosina’s students, Donald Walker, became a professor of piano at Northern Illinois University in 1967, where he continued to teach until his death in 2002. Professor Walker was known as one of the most prominent teachers in the United States throughout his 35-year teaching career. Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya was a student of Dr. Walker during her studies at NIU from 1997 to 2000. This removes Professor Walker to the fifth and Yevgeniya Lepskaya to the six’musical generations away from Beethoven.

To find out more about Yevgeniya Lepskaya please click here.

Teacher Recitals

Each year Yevgeniya Lepskaya holds a solo piano recital. The programs performed consist of the gems of the classical piano repertoire such as Chopin ballades and etudes, Schubert impromptus, Beethoven sonatas, Liszt transcendental etudes, and many more. Through these performances, Ms. Lepskaya hope to inspire her students as well as educate them and all those who love classical music.

Please view our calendar to view information on upcoming Teacher Recitals.

Events

Registration

Fill out the registration form and mail it to:

Lepskaya’s School of Music
1032 Busse Highway
Park Ridge, IL 60068

You can also register by
phone: 773.319.5108

Please make checks payable to
Lepskaya’s School of Music


If you have any questions – please, let us know by sending your request via the form below:

Our Facilities

Lepskaya’s School of Music is located near downtown Park Ridge, a small northwest suburb of Chicago, IL. The school is within a short distance from the Park Ridge Public Library and City Hall.

Ample free parking is available in the immediate vicinity of Lepskaya’s School of Music, both on the street as well in the parking lot adjacent to the school’s building.

Testimonials

I have been a student of Yevgeniya for ten years. She has helped me evolve from a shy performer who struggled to get through books for beginners to someone who looks forward to taking on challenges of advanced Liszt and Chopin. She not only gave me hands-on advice about my technique but listened to my concerns at the same time. I wanted to play Chopin’s “Ballade no.1 in G Minor” for the longest time, but I was not ready for it. Instead of rushing, she built up my technique with etudes and allowed me to emotionally mature to play such a draining piece. She genuinely cares about my improvement and well-being and has such an immense passion for music that she passed onto me. I could not imagine someone more supportive and brilliant teaching me.

Nell has been playing with Ms. Yevgeniya Jane Lepskaya for 2 years. Nell has been inspired by Ms. Jane to play piano and to have fun with it. She loves Ms. Jane!
Ms. Jane is very patient and caring with Nell. My daughter always loves to play piano, and she enjoys all her piano pieces. Ms. Jane is a teacher that loves her students and is always is in a great mood.
She is a great teacher !!!
Thank you for teaching Nell for the past years.

Testimonial Getting our son into piano lessons with Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music has been one of the best experiences for our family. Our piano teacher, Ms. Jane, is the most dedicated, passionate and talented teacher I have ever met and her impact on our son is truly remarkable. I always admire her approach and ability to keep the students focused, motivated, accomplished and to bring the best out of them. After three years of piano lessons, our son is playing amazingly, developed love for music, and learned a lot about many composers, their life and work. We ended up visiting Mozart’s home town in Austria and attended a concert in one of the castles in the area based on our son’s interest to learn more about and experience piano music. Ms Jane showed our entire family the beauty of classical music and is making our son not only a great piano player but a better person. Thank you for all that, we will be forever grateful!

I learned a lot from this school. They teach you in ways I couldn’t even imagine. So I am glad that I decided to take piano here.

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music is probably one of the best schools if you want your kids to learn about music and how to play (in our case, it is piano). Our friends suggested that we enroll our children in Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music piano lessons. Our children took piano lessons from other teachers before, but Yevgeniya’s school is entirely on another level. Our teacher at the school is Victoria, to whom we are very grateful for her patience and her ability always to be energetic, and her willingness to teach our kiddos. Mind you, learning piano is hard work, and essentially one needs to be consistent at studies, but after a full year of our kids attending the school, the results are impressive. We loved the school so much that we decided to enroll our third kid in piano lessons.

I’ve been playing piano with Ms. Jane for almost ten years now, and I’ve learned so much from her. Her teaching method is paced to match her students’ talent, age, experience, which all provide very beneficial lessons. In addition, she treats everyone with respect and kindness and doesn’t hesitate when there is feedback to be given. When I first started lessons, it was hard to find the will to practice, but as I slowly became more immersed in the musical world, practicing became much more of a hobby than a requirement. Weekly lessons are now things I look forward to, and I learn more from her every day.

I am amazed at how much my daughter has learned this year! The Lepskaya’s School of Music really brings out the best in their students! My daughter was previously taking lessons at another studio where the teachers kept changing and ultimately she was constantly playing at the same basic level. We switched her out to Lepskaya’s with Lesley as her teacher. Lesley’s been a great “instrument” in improving my daughters skills. According to my daughter, Lesley helps you focus on any problems you’re having with a piece and gives you great detailed information on how to work on it. My daughter has definitely been challenged and is playing beautiful music! I’m glad we decided to give this local school a chance.

My daughter, Carolina (11), has been studying piano with Jane since 1st grade. Jane not only shares her extensive knowledge and technical expertise, but also her love of music, explaining the history and feeling behind the musical pieces. Over the past 4 years, Jane and Carolina have formed a special bond. Jane is patient and respectful of her specific mood or ability level on a given day, asking questions and listening. Jane challenges Carolina to go beyond what she thinks she can accomplish and encourages her to work hard. At the same time, she also has an excellent sense of when to push and when to pull back. My daughter has also taken lessons from Takako, who always seems to help her through rough patches in a piece. The recitals and occasional competitions have resulted in a sense of accomplishment, greater confidence in her abilities and grace under pressure. Carolina truly enjoys playing the piano, which is really all I could ask for. I highly recommend Jane and her staff.

Our daughter, Emma, has been a student of Yevgeniya Lepskaya School of Music for 2 years.
We could not be more pleased with Jane, who happens to be the owner and piano instructor. She is truly passionate about music and teaching.
Emma has learned so much in the short time that she has been a student of Jane’s.
The reason is that Emma loves spending time with her. She demands a lot from her students, but has created an environment where children want to be. Just recently, our daughter took part in one of the school’s piano recitals.
Jane started the recital with a brief introduction and referred to her students as “all of my children”.
It was a wonderful comment that was appreciated by all of her students and the parents.

Thank you Jane for being a wonderful teacher.

Irina Zinevich has been teaching my six-year old son violin for the past year and a half.
Ms. Zinevich has been incredibly patient and supportive towards him. Having a little one in a 45 minute lesson could be hard on anyone. Irina is very creative in her teaching methods. She works hard to make each lesson enjoyable for my son. As a result of Ms. Zinevich’ efforts, my son wants to keep trying. Thanks to Irina, my son loves music and understands how important it is to practice.

One year ago, my 7 year old daughter started piano lessons with Ms. Victoria at The School of Music. It was our first experience with anything musical and we both knew very little. Ms. Victoria has made learning piano a joy for both of us. I sit in each lesson and take notes so I can help my daughter practice at home. In one half hour, we learn more than I would have thought possible and we have fun doing it. Ms. Victoria manages to balance humor with staying focused and keeping her students on track. She is always smiling and using jokes that are age appropriate and gradually builds on skills when students are developmentally ready to learn them. She provides challenges to encourage students’ learning. She also makes sure my daughter is learning the proper way to play, not just memorizing notes. I can’t say enough complimentary things about Ms. Victoria; she is great fit for my daughter and I am so happy to be part of the School of Music family.

My two kids started going to Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music in September of 2009. After taking piano lessons with Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya for the past 9 months, both my husband and I feel blessed and fortunate to have Ms. Lepskaya as a piano teacher for our two children. Yevgeniya’s best qualities, we believe, are her great professionalism and integrity.
Ms. Lepskaya teaches the kids not only music in depth but also love for the music in general. In addition, Ms. Lepskaya introduces the students to the methods on how to improve their playing in a really fun way. My kids are becoming more enthusiastic about learning piano every day and they are always looking forward to their lessons with Ms. Lepskaya.

My daughter Hanna, who is now 10, had a desire to play piano since the age of 4. When she turned 5, I found a teacher for her in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the experience with the teacher ended up turning her off of piano for 3 years!!

When Hanna turned 8, she started voicing a renewed interest in playing piano. This time I did my research. Hanna and I met with Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya at the Lepskaya’s School of Music, and walked away from our meeting feeling comfortable and excited to start lessons again.

Hanna started piano lessons with Ms.Takako whose personality and calmness turned out to be PERFECT for my daughter’s individuality and learning style. Ms. Takako’s patience, soft demeanor, yet meticulous teaching style are just what Hanna needed to thrive with playing piano. Hanna absolutely LOVES playing and will practice on her own without any reminding or pressuring from me. I owe Ms.Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya and Ms.Takako Hironaka my sincere and deepest gratitude for helping foster my daughter’s love of music and piano.”

Jane has been my piano teacher for 3 Ѕ years. I started playing piano in first grade when I was seven years old. I am now almost 11 years old and I am going into 5th grade.
Jane has taught me so much in these 3 Ѕ years. When I am nervous during recitals, all I have to do is look at Jane, because she is always smiling. Jane makes me very confident especially when I am nervous. I am very lucky to have a piano teacher like Jane.
Piano is something I will enjoy for the rest of my life thanks to Jane. Every year I am inspired by Jane to keep playing more and more piano.

We consider ourselves lucky to find a great music school such as Lepskaya’s School of Music. Our guitar instructor, Chris Dziedzic, is a great teacher and our son has progressed beyond our expectations. Chris Dziedzic has so much patience and has really customized the lessons to fit our son’s needs. Our son even practices!!!

Outstanding instructors. Lessons are a perfect balance of instruction and fun. For the second summer, my daughter has been admitted to Interlochen as a piano performance major. My son recently sang the lead role in his school musical, “Oliver.” Our experience with Lepskaya’s School of Music piano and voice instruction has been wonderful.‎

We are very pleased that seven years ago we chose Yevgeniya (Jane) Lepskaya as the piano teacher of our three children Georgia, Vasilios and Thanasis. Jayne is a wonderful, intelligent warm individual whom our children love working with her on a daily basis. She creates a second home for them, where the power of music enriches their lives. She is an impressive teacher who manages to get her points across efficiently through her kind nature. Her dedication to provide educational opportunities to our children through various performances and competitions has inspired not only our children but ourselves as well. We are very fortunate we entrusted our children’s musical education to Jane since she represents not only a unique piano teacher but also a wonderful friend for our whole family!

My twins started playing piano at age 6yrs old with Jane Lepskaya from Lepskaya school of music. I had been looking for a music school that catered to young children. We started with one lesson each per week at 35 mins long. By the end of our first month both children wanted more piano time.We than increased our lessons to twice a week and 45 mins per session. It has been an amazing one year. We have participated in two recitals thus far and their progress has been tremendous.
Jane Lepskaya has dedication, patience ,enthusiasm , persistence and not to mention knowledge in the field of classical music as evidenced by her background.
This was one of the best investments we made for our young children! We are so privileged to have the opportunity to have ” Miss Jane” as our piano teacher!

I have been learning piano with Jane for several years now, and over these years I’ve learned many skills that range from being able to “sight-play” music to being able to compose my own songs. Her piano lessons are a great way to not only teach someone how to play music, but how to love music. She does a excellent job incorporating elements of music theory so you can understand what you’re playing and where it comes from. A big plus about how Jane teaches students new music is that she often lets students choose what pieces to play, which for someone like me who is picky about these things, has been a huge benefit. The recitals are very well organized as well, and allow both students and parents to share music with each other, not to mention the snacks afterward – but before the reception begins, Jane always finishes the recitals with a jaw-dropping piece that has motivated me and likely many other students to keep trying at their instrument and share their skills with the world.

We visited Lepskaya’s School of Music in Fall of 2012 after my husband and I read great parent reviews about the school online. We couldn’t be happier. Jane is an excellent teacher! She challenges her students and brings out the best in them. We all look forward to the spring and winter recitals held at the Fine Arts Building every June and December where we all enjoy a showcase of performances from her students. And of course, we get a treat as Jane concludes every recital with a breathtaking piece.
In two years, my daughter has played in four recitals and has competed in 2013 Winter Sonatina festival where she got a silver medal. I highly recommend Lepskaya’s School of Music!

My children have been Jane Lepskaya’s students for almost 6 years and we find her to be a skilled and wonderful teacher.  My kids take direction differently and she is able to adapt her teaching style to their unique style of learning. My older child has experienced 2 other piano teachers and concluded that Jane is, by far, superior.

As with any good instructor, Jane is very patient and caring but firm and knows when and how to challenge/stretch them.  She is collaborative in her instruction and direction, taking into consideration any interests the children may have (to keep things interesting for them ) as well as any feedback from parents.  She truly cares for the kids and recognizes the importance of music for a well rounded education.  Jane is very easy to work with. I find her to be flexible as well as diligent in addressing any concerns I may have.  I couldn’t ask for a better or more qualified instructor.

This is my girls (6 and 4 years old) first time at taking piano lessons and we couldn’t be more thrilled with Miss Victoria. She keeps my kids interested while continuing to push them to the next level. Miss Victoria has various techniques for teaching each child and adapts to instruct how they learn best.
We just had our first recital and after successfully playing a song both my girls recognized and loved playing, their confidence is even stronger. I have recommended Miss Victoria and the School of Music to several friends and am not only impressed by the professionalism of the School, but the knowledge of music and teaching that both Miss Jane and Miss Victoria possess. I’m excited to continue our lessons.

We are very happy with Victoria Pilipenko. She is doing an amazing job with my daughter Taira. Excellent teacher with great skills. Taira loves her teacher.
We are looking forward to many more years with her.

I have been playing the piano for more than ten years now at Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music. When I first started lessons at the strong suggestion of my parents I struggled with boring practice time and wanted to quit. However, with Jane’s assistance, I persevered. Jane was always encouraging during lessons and was so kind because she truly wanted the best for me. Her expertise in piano and effective teaching methods soon began to rub off on me and I began playing more difficult pieces. I found I was inspired by their sheer beauty. I would listen to Jane play and then listen online for hours on end to pieces from Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” to Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and now I could play them with my own hands, and that astounded me. After my most recent concert for the School, when I played Schubert’s Impromptu no. 4, one of the younger students approached me and smiled, saying, “You were amazing.”Seeing the joy that my music brings to others has made it more than worthwhile!

My 9-year-old daughter has been a student of Victoria’s for almost a year. Victoria is an excellent teacher! In her initial lessons, Victoria was able to evaluate my daughter’s skill level. She had learned earlier a few basic things from me, but Victoria has been able to properly teach her the concepts of timing, reading, rhythm, and the proper posture for your hands. After each lesson, Victoria discusses what they worked on and what to focus on for the coming week. This is great! I’ve worked with about 3-4 other teachers in the past for my other daughters, and none of them ever provided me proper feedback. Lastly, my daughter enjoys the music and the pace at which she’s taught that I don’t even have to remind her to practice! I would highly recommend Victoria as a teacher and have told other family members how much I love how well she and Jane’s studio operate.

Ms. Jane is an outstanding and very experienced piano teacher and mentor. Her knowledge, professionalism, dedication, patience, and method of teaching are to be admired. Our daughters Giuliana and Olivia began playing the piano at the age of 4 and 3 years old. They both really look forward to each of their piano lessons with Ms. Jane. In the years that they have attended Lepskaya’s School of Music, they have made remarkable strides in learning how to play the piano, which is attributed to Ms. Jane and her teaching techniques. Ms. Jane personalizes each of her lessons based on each of her students’ unique style of learning and creates an enjoyable and fun, while at the same time disciplined, environment for learning. Ms. Jane consistently goes above and beyond to maximize her students’ future potential by continually encouraging them with new, more advanced pieces and participating in performances. We are very fortunate to have Ms. Jane as our daughters’ piano teacher, and we would highly recommend Ms. Jane for anyone looking for a solid and enjoyable music education.

Lepskaya School of Music is an extraordinary place were everyone feels comfortable and welcomed regardless of their musical abilities, age, and talent. I walked in here for the first time on the cold February evening of 2017. As soon, as you walk in you feel like you entered a magical world. The owner, Jane and her husband put a lot of effort into making the school unique; from designs on the walls, to furniture, to mirrors in the bathrooms, the whole place is like an enchanted world. I absolutely love it!!! My teacher, Viktoria, is a phenomenal individual. She truly loves and cares for her students. She goes above and beyond and even types up her own score for different student to make them feel comfortable. When you are with her, you always feel happy, even when you can’t play everything right. For the student concert, I picked pieces from Russian movies. Viiktoria put them together for me and we then played together at the concert. Her creativity and desire to make all of her students succeed is one of the many reasons why I love being with her. While Viktoria was away, I had great pleasure of working with the owner Jane. She is very knowledgeable and pays close attention to technique. In just 2 month I was able to play two long concert pieces. Jane does everything by the book but always makes sure that you are enjoying what you are doing. She loves teaching and because of her love for teaching, her students love to learn. She is also a phenomenal piano player herself. I always love when she performs at the student concerts. I would highly recommend this school to anyone who is interested in music. It doesn’t matter if you are a child or an adult, this school will help you learn music and you will always feel special there. Thank you so much, Jane, Viiktoria and the whole staff at Lepskaya School of Music! I wouldn’t have loved piano this much if it wasn’t for all of you.

My daughter started taking piano lessons from Ms. Jane when she was about 11 years old. When she started, I recall saying I was only hoping she would learn to read music and how to play basic piano. Fast forward 7 years and my daughter not only quickly achieved those goals, but went on to accomplish more than I had ever expected developing a a love of music and passion for musical theatre. If it were not for Ms. Jane’s guidance and counsel, my daughter would have never attended Interlochen Center for the Arts and Juilliard, which were pivotal in her growth trajectory. My daughter recently graduated from Maine South High School and was presented with the National School Choral Award for outstanding contributions to the success of the school vocal music program, which meant she was asked to sing our National Anthem at the Class of 2022 Graduation Ceremony. My daughter plans to pursue her BFA in Musical Theatre at NYU Tisch School for the Arts in the fall. I have to thank Ms. Jane and the other instructors at the school for their ongoing coaching and support along the way. Without a doubt, I would highly recommend Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music. I found a picture from one of my daughter’s first recitals at the school and one from her recent high school graduation and included them here.

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music was the perfect place for our daughter to study piano. Yevgenia (Jane) was an amazing instructor. She made all her students feel confident in their accomplishments. Her style is very professional yet at the same time kind and understanding that not everyone learns at the same pace. Her semi-annual recitals are wonderful events; they give each student a chance to shine in front of family and friends as well as teach the art of performance. Without any hesitation we highly recommend her and her school!

Contact

Yevgeniya Lepskaya’s School of Music

1032 Busse Highway

Park Ridge IL 60068

e-mail: [email protected]

phone: 773.319.5108

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