About

The Teacher’s Bio

Ursula Newman

Ursula Cauffiel Newman is a well-recognized name in the world of piano. As a Performance Major at Mary Manse College and studying extensively with Dr. Robert Pace at Teachers College of Columbia University she has made her mark in the world of teaching. Teaching professionally all of her life, she was voted teacher of the year by Kimble Pianos International. Early in her career she founded the Ursula Cauffiel School of Music in Toledo, Ohio. The school employed over 30 teachers and instructed over 500 students per week. It ran for 20 years until she sold it to move to Arizona. Ursula owned and operated several mall kiosks to build enthusiasm for piano lessons, by selling sheet music and other items. In addition to teaching, Ursula has performed at prominent concerts, including the All Chopin Concert at the Ohio Theatre. She produced, directed and created a “Piano Monster Concert with over 1,001 Keys”, involving 30 pianos simultaneously played by students and staff. Fundraising for lymphoma, she created the national “PracticeAthon for Lymphoma Campaign”, where students would raise money for the minutes they practiced. She also designed and created a piano course for Kinder Keyboard Piano Classes aimed at young children five and under. Ursula is a member of the National Music Teachers Association, the Arizona State Music Teachers Association, and has demonstrated and interacted at the World Pedagogy Conference, California State Music Teachers Association and the Francis Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Conference. Chosen out of hundreds of teachers nationwide, Ursula was asked to teach piano for Yamaha Corporation on Crystal Cruises International.

Philosophy

Known for her kind and patient nature, she has demonstrated her love of teaching through her students. The students enjoy their lessons with her because of her ability to clearly communicate concepts to them so they can easily learn. She believes that learning piano must be fun and accessible for all ages and abilities no matter what their limitations are.

Studio

Ursula’s students have won several gold medals in Phoenix and Scottsdale piano competitions. The majority of her students score in the upward 90 percentile in the Arizona Study Program. Whether it be a Clavinova Festival where students create their songs with sound effects, or playing in the Mall, or traditional piano recitals, the students of Ursula are confident performing because of the comprehensive teaching and the positive reinforcement she gives to each student. Students with Ursula can learn how to read music, improvise, transpose, play be ear, memorize, compose, understand theory and play the piano. Students will develop classical training, while keeping music fresh, fun, and at a level they will enjoy. Students will experience being taught on an exclusive Aspen Steinway Model B 7 foot piano, or/and the world famous digital Yamaha Clavinova.