Instructor Profile

Humberto Olivieri was born in Caracas, Venezuela and showed an interest in music at an early age. This was partly influenced by his father who loved playing records of Lionel Richie and George Benson. His father would often play on the piano while while a five year old Humberto sang along. Shortly after, Humberto learned to play piano by ear and this instrument became his main tool for performing, improvising and composing. Humberto began his formal classical piano studies with professor Bruna Monestiroli, a former student of pianist and educator, Alfredo Casella. Montestiroli gave him the basic technique and understanding of tonal western harmony. He then discovered Jazz, and pursued Jazz studies at the City College of New York where he graduated with a Bachelors in Music Performance. In New York, he studies with Ray Gallon and Barry Harris and attends workshops with Kenny Werner, Fred Hersch, Bill Charlap and Ted Rosenthal, to name a few. He also studies with saxophonist Jason Rigby, who introduced him to the concept of free jazz. While here in the US, Humberto has taught at music schools, such as the Miami Youth Symphony, where he worked as teacher assistant for Alex Berti, one of Venezuela's leading composers and orchestrators. He also taught at music schools in New Jersey. Parallel to that, he continues teaching privately to students of all ages and levels. Humberto's teaching method his very similar to his former classical teacher Bruna Monestiroli, but also incorporates some of the philosophy and teaching style of Barry Harris, Kenny Werner and Bill Evans. Similar to the latter, Humberto believes in "practicing the minimum". He doesn't like to overwhelmhis students with loads of material, and prefers to focus on small portions of a piece of music or exercise. He wants his students to remember that playing the piano should be first and foremost, an enjoyable experience. Humberto's website: www.rontomkinsmusic.com