I am sure you have taken detours when traveling. Some were mandatory – when, for example, the main road was closed – but many were voluntary: you wanted to take the scenic route to just enjoy the view. In any case, that detour affected your future, one way or another. In fact, that detour might have eventually become your main path.  

My own journey was like this. When I started taking lessons, little did I know that piano would become my career. I did try computer science in college, which I believed to be my main path. But I realized very quickly that, based on my low final grades, my plan would not work out. Therefore, what I thought to be my main path became a quick detour. And the detour (learning piano for fun) became my main path.   

While pursuing my graduate degrees, I took other detours (learning harpsichord, pipe organ, piano tuning, and conducting). While pursuing my doctoral degree at Indiana University, my piano professor, Evelyne Brancart, inspired me to write my doctoral document on piano technique. Then, my research on Brazilian music also took me on another journey that resulted on the release of my CD album Alma Brasileira [Brazilian Soul] and on a year-long recital tour to promote it in 10 countries. And more recently, I started learning how to play the harp. Each of those detours helped shape me as a musician, taught me how to adjust to all types of teaching situations, and how to be flexible. Therefore, the detours I took helped me become a better teacher!  

Each of my students is on a path, too. And I am grateful to witness their journeys, to help them find their passion (or detours), to show them different angles and approaches on piano technique, and to work with them on a big range of the piano repertoire, including Brazilian music. My goal is to provide each student with tools on how to learn, how to develop, and how to become a well-round musician, no matter where his or her path leads them.  

Dr. Paulo Steinberg  has performed as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist across the U.S., Canada, South America, and Europe, including prestigious music venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. He often serves as an adjudicator in competitions, and offers master classes, lectures, workshops, and performances in the U.S. and abroad. His summer projects often include teaching at the Saarburg Chamber Music Summer Festival in Germany and traveling around Europe, Brazil and/or Canada. His research interests focus on piano technique and Brazilian music.  As part of his sabbatical leave, Paulo is planning to live in Latvia for 2-3 months in the spring of 2024 to study and perform Latvian piano solo and chamber music.  

Besides teaching and performing, Steinberg has served in several administrative positions. Currently, he is vice-president of the Harrisonburg Music Teachers Association, and served as president of the Virginia Music Teachers Association in the past. He is a board member on Music in Every Home which provides scholarships for underrepresented piano and guitar students. 

Dr. Steinberg holds Piano Performance degrees from Conservatório “Carlos Gomes” and Universidade de Sāo Paulo in Brazil (undergraduate degree), Arizona State University (M.M) and Indiana University (D.M.). His main piano teachers are Carlos Yansen, Paulo Gori, Gilberto Tinetti, and Evelyne Brancart.   He is featured in the following CD albums:  The Recital Clarinetist  in collaboration with clarinetist Dr. Janice Minor;  Duos, with clarinetist Dr. Sarunas Jankauskas;  Time, Place, Spirit, with flutist Dr. Beth Chandler Cahill; and his solo CD album  Alma Brasileira.  The latter was featured on the Brazilian film “As Cadeiras”. For more information, go to  www.paulosteinberg.com  or follow him on Instagram (@paulosteinberg).