Maia Van Raes is multi-talented instrumentalist, with a passion for a wide variety of musical genres from classical and jazz, to R&B and soul. She can play guitar, bass and trumpet, however piano is her primary instrument and first love. As a child she was influenced by her grandfather who played the likes of Scott Joplin and other early stride piano music by ear, and her grandmother who was always spinning the music of Elvis on the turntable.

Maia also loves classical music and has studied extensively through the RCM. She has her Bachelor’s in Music in Piano from the University of Toronto. She began teaching at Lippert Music Centre in 2014 and loves to work with her students on a wide variety of musical genres, cultivating a unique curriculum for each individual student. Music lessons teach the value of doing hard things and can give confidence to every student in so many aspects of their lives. The goal is to break down challenges to make learning piano fun, and allow for as much creativity as possible. Maia also has extensive experience preparing students for RCM exams, both in Piano and Theory.

When she is not teaching she is performing in the Toronto blues band, Little Magic Sam. Her sound is influenced by the likes of Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, as well as blues piano legends Otis Spann and Pinetop Perkins, and can be described as Chicago blues meets Memphis Soul. You can find their music online at littlemagicsam.com.