Coppell Conservatory - Adriana Morales

Ms. Adriana Morales grew up in Cali (Colombia), where she had her early music education under the tutelage of Cuban teacher Lucia D. Mora. After receiving a High School performance certificate with emphasis on piano from the Antonio Maria Valencia Conservatory, she began her undergraduate studies toward a degree, at that same institution in Cali. Subsequently, she won a scholarship to continue her education at Texas Christian University (TCU), to study Piano Pedagogy under the tutelage of Mr. Harold Martina.

During her undergraduate years at TCU, Ms. Morales was active as a performer as well as a teacher, with appearances in her native country of Colombia and in Fort Worth. In addition, Ms. Morales’ interest in jazz led her to join the Curt Wilson Big Band in her junior year. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from TCU, and subsequently she went on to win the Young Artists performing Series competition in Colombia, where she played in one of the most prestigious halls of the country, the library Luis Angel Arango.

Ms. Morales returned to TCU to continue her education toward a Master’s degree in Piano Pedagogy, studying with Mr. Harold Martina, who guided her piano studies, and with Dr. Ann Gipson, who guided her pedagogy studies. During that time, Ms. Morales acquired a great deal of experience teaching students of all ages (5 to70), in both private and group lessons settings. In her teaching, she concentrated on both musicianship and technical development. She has taught group lessons to amateur adults, non-keyboard music majors, and children’s classes of varying levels.

In her graduate lecture recital, Music and Language Intertwined-Towards Effective Communication, she presented music through the lens of language, and highlighted the fact that there is always grammatical structure behind the notes in a music score.

Ms. Morales has a great love for music, and she strongly believes that both teaching and performing are fundamental for the development of a good musician. Each student needs to ultimately become his/her own teacher. In this way, the student will be able to use his/her time at home more efficiently. For this reason, one of her main goals as a teacher is to give students as many tools as possible to turn them into independent learners.

In addition, commitment, discipline, and hard work are important elements of the learning process. Developing a positive attitude towards this process is equally important for the success of any student at any level. Because of this, the core of her teaching philosophy is transmitting the love of music to her students. Not only does learning about the musical concepts, composers, and styles bring joy to the student, it also develops important qualities, such as endurance, discipline, courage, optimism, and sensitivity.

Ms. Morales joined the Coppell Conservatory in the Summer of 2011. Through her experience and her love of music, she will introduce her students to the infinite world of music with the hope of making music an integral part of their lives.

Ms. Morales is a member of CMTA, the Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA), and the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA).