Biographies

Andrea Carless
Director, Principal Instructor

Andrea Carless started her musical journey studying classical piano at the age of four. She was awarded the Associate (ARCT) diploma in Piano Pedagogy in 2009 and ARCT diploma in Piano Performance in 2011 by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM). In 2013, she received the Licentiate (LLCM) diploma in Piano Performance from the London College of Music (UK) with a mark of 97%. Andrea holds a Bachelors of Kinesiology from the University of British Columbia with a Minor in Applied Music Technology. 

Andrea has taught piano since 2008 across all ages and levels (RCM beginner to ARCT). She loves witnessing her students’ discoveries and enjoys creative problem solving, frequently arranging her student’s favourite music to be played within their immediate skillsets. Andrea is a strong believer that curiousity and collaboration are some of humanity’s greatest strengths, and encourages her students to engage with these qualities within their lifelong musical education. 

Outside her role as a music educator, Andrea is an experimental sound artist whose work started in sound design for virtual reality (VR) games and indie animations. Her freelance work focuses on utilizing technology to create meaningful and accessible immersive experiences. They range from projects researching and creating with interactive music technologies to live electroacoustic performances. On stage, Andrea has performed on a variety of instruments with artists across different genres at Canadian music festivals including CelticFest Vancouver, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and Vancouver International Jazz Festival. She is an avid collaborator with a passion for learning and bridging genres, traditions, and technologies. Her projects have been featured on CBC and supported by funding organizations including Canada Council for the Arts, British Columbia Arts Council, and Creative BC. Andrea continues her artistic work under her maiden name, Andrea Wong. 

In 2024, Andrea found a place she could call home and has since embarked on her latest musical adventure. Here in Calgary’s Signal Hill community, Andrea is committed to realizing a vision that sparked over a decade prior: a cozy neighbourhood music school where students enjoy learning, build musical skills, and grow through meaningful failure, creative thinking, self awareness, and empathy.

Yumi
Fluffball-in-Residence

Yumi started singing with the piano before she was even 1 year old. She is our school's resident Samoyed - our champion napper and Biggest-Smile cheerleader (especially if you have treats!).

That being said, if you are allergic or wary of dogs, Yumi also enjoys music from the basement and the outdoors.