About Laurel Pals
Laurel Pals is from West Michigan and has felt that music has always lived in her, starting piano lessons at the age of five and violin at ten. She has a Bachelor's of the Arts in Music from Grand Valley State University where she studied piano under Dr. Giuseppe Lupis and pedagogy with Dr. Helen Marlais. The musical interests she pursued in college were wide and included private voice, violin, piano accompanying and composition in addition to piano performance.
Passionate about the intersection of music and culture, Laurel's musical studies focus led her to study pop music, minimalism, religious music, rap, songwriting, and vocal pop using the Somatic voice method.
Laurel's senior piano recital consisted of commissioning student compositions based on works she performed by Nikolai Kapustin, Shostakovich, and Scriabin. Upon her graduation she taught piano for a year in her home state of Michigan, and then went to graduate school where she studied theology and peace building, but always continued teaching. Since obtaining her graduate degree she has lived in Oman and Lithuania.
Ms. Pal's teaching priority is to cultivate a natural curiosity for all kinds of music and art, open mindedness to learn, creativity of expression and interpretation, and productive, holistic practice, which she believes is essential for a healthy and sustainable relationship with music.
Laurel's hobbies include travel, writing on psychology, fashion, and the arts.
