Looking for specific info on partimento and tonal composition/historical improvisation studies? Click the button below!
Are you a competition organizer in need of a friendly, but musically uncompromising judge for piano or composition-related events?
(Also, in case you came to this page looking to purchase my pedagogical compositions: click here to navigate to that page!)
An exciting announcement from my own compositional life: my Nocturne in G# minor is now available in the 22 Nocturnes for Chopin volume published by EVC Music! Check out the wonderful review Andrew Eales has written about the collection here (with links to purchase): pianodao.com/2023/08/23/22-nocturnes-for-chopin/
With a doctoral minor in composition from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and experience teaching both pre-college and adult composers, I can help you bring out your unique composer's voice while you study universal principles of craft, theory, instrumentation, orchestration, and engraving.
Here is a quick summary of what I offer (and require) as a composition instructor:
Composition biography:
Nicole Elyse DiPaolo is a composer, collaborative pianist, and teacher whose music has been described as "brilliant" (PianoDao), as well as "very effective" with a "fantastic amount of intrigue," "mindfulness...[and] colorful nuance" (Seven Sky Music). Ms. DiPaolo holds a doctoral minor in composition from Indiana University, having studied with Claude Baker, Don Freund, P. Q. Phan, and David Schneider. She also holds a B.Mus. from the University of Michigan, where she studied composition with Bright Sheng and piano with Louis Nagel. Ms. DiPaolo's music has been heard across the world. along with numerous performances in the Midwest, her commissioned song settings of Muscogee poet laureate Alexander Posey's texts have been performed across the US, and the Smithsonian Institution procured copies of two of these (Nature's Blessings and A Vision) to archive at the National Museum of the American Indian. Additionally, her viola duo Three Episodes was featured at Ball State University's 40th Annual New Music Festival in February 2010. Her early compositions have been garnering interest as well: music students in Kenya performed several of Ms. DiPaolo's such pieces in May 2013 through the Tunaweza Kimuziki project, spearheaded by opera coach Kimberly Carballo. Ms. DiPaolo's music also received its Mexican premiere in October 2013 with a performance of her Divertimento, written for the International String Quartet of Yucatán. Closer to home in Cleveland, Ms. DiPaolo's Lucid Dreaming for solo harp and the Divertimento solo harp were featured at the "She Scores" new music festival, celebrating women composers with ties to Ohio, held at Case Western Reserve University in June 2022 and rebroadcast on Mark Satola's "Cleveland Ovations" program on WCLV radio (90.3) in October. Most recently, Ms. DiPaolo's Nocturne in G-sharp minor was selected for inclusion in 22 Nocturnes for Chopin, a collection of Chopin-preparatory piano compositions to be presented in recital and published by EVC Music (dist. Hal Leonard) in 2023.
More recently, Ms. DiPaolo has published a set of twenty short pedagogical pieces in uncommon keys, entitled Venturing Beyond, for late-beginner pianists of all ages, available on SheetMusicPlus and MusicaNeo, and she is now working on a similar elementary-level set, Opening Doors. She has also begun revisiting Alex Posey's poetry for new art song settings; her setting of his "Pledge of Peace" was commissioned by Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition-winning mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey and was recently re-adapted for mixed choir. Ms. DiPaolo's newest collection for late-intermediate pianists is Vignettes, a series of 5 Impressionist-style pieces that, in particular, prepare for the pianistic challenges of Maurice Ravel's music.
Also a sought-after composition teacher and adjudicator, Ms. DiPaolo frequently judges state, regional, and divisional MTNA composition competitions at all levels, ranging from elementary to college-level Young Artists, and she chaired the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp composition department in 2014 (Session 4, middle school). In her private online studio, she has recently expanded her curricular offerings to include partimento and other historical methods of teaching tonal composition and improvisation.
Enjoy a playlist of Ms. DiPaolo's concert compositions on YouTube (at least those that have been video recorded) here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc5dolE-RZY&list=PLLtmV1D8gs_PgWGF75PfxXbiEkd6H-0pq
"I've been getting composition lessons for a few months with Nicole and found the lessonss extremely valuable. Been playing music for a long time but this is a whole new avenue for me and Nicole has been extremely informative and supportive. Thanks Nicole."
-C., Composition Student
Does Studio DiPaolo seem like a good fit? If so, CLICK HERE to start your music-making journey!
Here is a quick summary of what I offer (and require) as a composition instructor:
- Lessons will help you to write in your own style by focusing on aspects of craft, large scale form, instrumentation (idiomatic writing for each instrument), orchestration (putting multiple instruments together), and notational conventions. Unlike most composition instructors, you won't come out sounding just like your teacher, as happens in far too many modern composition studios. Listeners shouldn't be able to identify with whom you studied based on what your music sounds like, and I'll make sure you sound like you - not me!
- Principles of music theory will be integrated into lessons as needed. If tonal composition study is your interest, we'll work through selected texts on Galant schemata and partimenti, the methods that composers in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries used to learn tonal grammar and syntax. Unlike in many academic spheres, your desire to write in a tonal language, if you have any, is warmly welcomed at Studio DiPaolo. But you can write in any language you like!
- Are you wondering just what "partimento" and "schema" might mean for your musical journey? Click the button at the top of this page to find out!
- We will also learn principles of music engraving - either by hand (if the student does not have computer/tablet access outside of lessons) or via industry-standard notation programs like Sibelius. For students who aren't in a financial position to purchase a notation software program, I recommend either Noteflight, Musescore or Sibelius First, which are free.
- The programs I have installed include Sibelius 6, Sibelius Ultimate 2022, Dorico Pro 4, Finale 27, and Musescore, along with the NotePerformer aftermarket audio engine (which is very reasonably priced compared to most sound libraries and highly recommended). Sibelius 6 is what I use for my own work, so that's the program in which I am fully fluent, but I welcome files created in any of the aforementioned programs. Files created in other programs can be exchanged via PDF or MusicXML (.xml or .mxl).
- Students must be at least intermediate-level on an instrument or voice before enrolling in composition-specific lessons. Students with no instrumental or voice background will be asked to enroll in piano lessons through Studio DiPaolo for a time (to be mutually determined) before proceeding with composition lessons. Exceptions may apply if you already study performance with another instructor, but are not yet intermediate level.
- Students who do not yet read music notation will be asked to enroll in theory and/or piano lessons to learn notation before composition lessons start. Students could also subscribe to my Liberty Park Music notation course as a substitute if they already play an instrument intermediately, especially if their Internet is not reliable or always accessible.
- Modern (not historical/partimento) composition students may elect bi-weekly lessons, if desired, without being assessed the a-la-carte lesson rate; however, certain high-demand slots will not be available (like Tuesdays at 4), as weekly students will get priority for those slots. Please inquire if you think a biweekly composition lesson schedule may be relevant to your needs. Note that unlike weekly slot holders, bi-weekly students will pay adjusted rates in months that have 3 lessons vs. 2; for example, a student in bi-weekly 1-hour lessons would pay $100 in months that have 2 lessons and $150 in months that have 3 lessons. Therefore, they will not get the "free 5th lesson" as weekly students sometimes do.
Composition biography:
Nicole Elyse DiPaolo is a composer, collaborative pianist, and teacher whose music has been described as "brilliant" (PianoDao), as well as "very effective" with a "fantastic amount of intrigue," "mindfulness...[and] colorful nuance" (Seven Sky Music). Ms. DiPaolo holds a doctoral minor in composition from Indiana University, having studied with Claude Baker, Don Freund, P. Q. Phan, and David Schneider. She also holds a B.Mus. from the University of Michigan, where she studied composition with Bright Sheng and piano with Louis Nagel. Ms. DiPaolo's music has been heard across the world. along with numerous performances in the Midwest, her commissioned song settings of Muscogee poet laureate Alexander Posey's texts have been performed across the US, and the Smithsonian Institution procured copies of two of these (Nature's Blessings and A Vision) to archive at the National Museum of the American Indian. Additionally, her viola duo Three Episodes was featured at Ball State University's 40th Annual New Music Festival in February 2010. Her early compositions have been garnering interest as well: music students in Kenya performed several of Ms. DiPaolo's such pieces in May 2013 through the Tunaweza Kimuziki project, spearheaded by opera coach Kimberly Carballo. Ms. DiPaolo's music also received its Mexican premiere in October 2013 with a performance of her Divertimento, written for the International String Quartet of Yucatán. Closer to home in Cleveland, Ms. DiPaolo's Lucid Dreaming for solo harp and the Divertimento solo harp were featured at the "She Scores" new music festival, celebrating women composers with ties to Ohio, held at Case Western Reserve University in June 2022 and rebroadcast on Mark Satola's "Cleveland Ovations" program on WCLV radio (90.3) in October. Most recently, Ms. DiPaolo's Nocturne in G-sharp minor was selected for inclusion in 22 Nocturnes for Chopin, a collection of Chopin-preparatory piano compositions to be presented in recital and published by EVC Music (dist. Hal Leonard) in 2023.
More recently, Ms. DiPaolo has published a set of twenty short pedagogical pieces in uncommon keys, entitled Venturing Beyond, for late-beginner pianists of all ages, available on SheetMusicPlus and MusicaNeo, and she is now working on a similar elementary-level set, Opening Doors. She has also begun revisiting Alex Posey's poetry for new art song settings; her setting of his "Pledge of Peace" was commissioned by Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition-winning mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey and was recently re-adapted for mixed choir. Ms. DiPaolo's newest collection for late-intermediate pianists is Vignettes, a series of 5 Impressionist-style pieces that, in particular, prepare for the pianistic challenges of Maurice Ravel's music.
Also a sought-after composition teacher and adjudicator, Ms. DiPaolo frequently judges state, regional, and divisional MTNA composition competitions at all levels, ranging from elementary to college-level Young Artists, and she chaired the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp composition department in 2014 (Session 4, middle school). In her private online studio, she has recently expanded her curricular offerings to include partimento and other historical methods of teaching tonal composition and improvisation.
Enjoy a playlist of Ms. DiPaolo's concert compositions on YouTube (at least those that have been video recorded) here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc5dolE-RZY&list=PLLtmV1D8gs_PgWGF75PfxXbiEkd6H-0pq
"I've been getting composition lessons for a few months with Nicole and found the lessonss extremely valuable. Been playing music for a long time but this is a whole new avenue for me and Nicole has been extremely informative and supportive. Thanks Nicole."
-C., Composition Student
Does Studio DiPaolo seem like a good fit? If so, CLICK HERE to start your music-making journey!
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Home | About | Tuition/Info | FAQ | Piano | Theory | Partimento | Composition | Accompanying | Consulting for Teachers | Media | Shop | Contact/Enroll