2025 Piano Retreat [Photo: Kim & Kim Piano Academy]

Why I chose this Piano Retreat

I began learning piano at age 63. The first few years went well, but like so many adult learners I plateaued.  To counter this I took evening classes in piano at Juilliard. They were helpful, but I continued to struggle with accuracy and performance anxiety.

in 2023 I experienced an on-stage disaster at Blue Gallery in New York. I was performing a prelude that I had played at Carnegie Weill some years before. This time I couldn’t recover from an error. The experience shook me. I wondered if I was just getting too old.

Then I read pianist Jeeyoon Kim‘s book Whenever You’re Ready: How to Compose the Life of Your Dreams. Beautifully designed and full of wisdom for adult amateur pianists, it gave me hope.

This led me to the Kim & Kim Piano Academy, created by pianist Jeeyoon Kim and conductor/violinist/pianist Anthony Do-Hoon Kim. I took their online course How to Practice Piano 101. I enjoyed it, but felt that it would have been better to attend in person.

So when the Kim & Kim Piano Retreat for Adult Amateur Pianists was announced, I signed up promptly. The venue was the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. It looked perfect, lovely inside and out. We rented a house close by, just a few minutes’ walk from Butterfly Beach in Montecito.

What the Retreat Offered

The 4-day retreat was centered around student performances, providing multiple opportunities to be coached and to learn by observation.

Masterclasses

Each student brought personal repertoire to work on throughout the retreat. Masterclasses allowed us to perform in front of each other and receive professional guidance from Jeeyoon and Anthony.

Private Lessons

We also received one-on-one lessons with both Jeeyoon and Anthony. Another teacher, Natasha, coached our assigned duets. This mix of solo and collaborative performance provided enough variety that we had lots of fun and never felt overworked.

Roundtables and Workshops

There were Roundtables where we discussed topics such as how to adjust to the uniqueness of an individual piano, and Piano Workshops where we considered interpretational and technical skills.

Anthony and Jeeyoon

Final Concert

The retreat culminated in a public recital in Lehmann Hall on a fine Hamburg Steinway. Students got to perform what they had been working on. The event was recorded and is being edited by Kim & Kim for distribution to students.

Practice Environment

Classes were interspersed with practice time in private rooms away from the main teaching area, so that students could harden new skills and work on their repertoire. All pianos were Steinway grands, in good condition and IN TUNE.

Welcome dinner by Kim & Kim

Community and Daily Life

After the initial welcome dinner, meals were not provided. However we ate together most of the time. Jeeyoon would coordinate lunch deliveries, and in the evening we would head into town for dinner.

To their credit, Jeeyoon and Anthony were with us all day, from the first class to the end of dinner. Their dedication went beyond the normal teacher-student model, making us feel like one big happy family of musicians.

Coaching That Improved My Playing

Anthony’s style!

Anthony’s Approach

Anthony was my coach for Bach’s Prelude #1 in C Major BWV 846. Being a conductor, what did he do? He CONDUCTED my Bach! Arms outstretched, he sculpted the rise and fall of the dynamics in line with Bach’s harmonic structure. The result may not have been for Bach purists, but on a modern piano it was exhilarating.

Jeeyoon’s Approach

My biggest struggle is recovering after a mistake. This had caused my 2023 performance collapse. During my Beethoven lesson with Jeeyoon, it happened again. I stopped several times, having lost my place in the music.

Unexpectedly, Jeeyoon handed me several handwritten notes. Each contained a recovery point with bar numbers and memory cues. She had me practice jumping to them again and again until they started to stick. Then I went to the practice room and worked them some more.

Jeeyoon has a remarkable ability to pinpoint the root of a performance issue and provide a solution. At the recital, my Beethoven was exactly what I had hoped for. I could not have been more grateful.

Personal Growth

These are the benefits I gained from attending this retreat. I could not have achieved them by myself.

• My Bach Prelude is now bigger and better
• I performed Beethoven in public with no breakage
• I gained practical experience with predesigned recovery points
• I recovered my on-stage confidence

Who This Retreat is Ideal For

Roving Pianist recommends the Kim & Kim Piano Retreat for Adult Amateur Pianists wholeheartedly for:

• Adult amateur pianists at any level
• Late-life beginners (like me)
• Pianists who want to improve confidence on stage
• Pianists looking for a supportive group environment
• Pianists who want to improve their musical interpretation

Would I Attend Again? YES!

The Kim & Kim Piano Retreat was far more than some classes. It was 4 days of musical immersion, personal growth, and connection. The beauty of the campus, the warmth of the community, the expertise of the instructors, and the well-crafted syllabus: everything came together as an unforgettable life experience.

The Piano Retreat Experience

[Video courtesy of Kim & Kim Piano Academy]