March Program
March 13, 2026: Justin Colwell - Problem-Solving & Pianism: Leadsheets as a Musical Sandbox
Topic Description:
Piano teachers are often encouraged to break the time-honored mold in order to connect with our students, sustain our livelihoods, and make teaching fun! Studying leadsheets in the context of piano lessons can add variety to the content of your teaching and motivate students by allowing them to pursue music they find interesting, while allowing us to impart high-level musicianship concepts like analysis, voice leading, fingering, voicing, and playing by ear. In this presentation, I will discuss what leadsheets are, how they are useful, and what preparation students need before working with them. I will also highlight resources for accessing lead sheets online and offer teaching strategies for Lennon-McCartney’s “Yesterday” and Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” to show how this format can be an entrée to high-level music-making with students of all ages.
Speaker Biography:
Justin Colwell began playing the piano at age four and has enjoyed making music as a collaborative artist, music director, and occasional composer ever since. Recent projects include a debut solo album the fires & the river: piano music for modern dance (2021), collaboration on the piano duo accompaniment for Side by Side by Sondheim with Grand Valley State University Opera Theatre (2021), performances of the Brahms and Mozart requiems in chamber orchestration with Grand Rapids Community College choirs (GRCC, 2023-24), and VoxGR’s holiday concert VOXmas (2024).
Today, Justin’s work revolves around performing and teaching music in community spaces in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He currently serves as the Faculty Accompanist at GRCC and Music Director at All Souls Community Church of West Michigan. With his spouse Melia, he co-owns Yellow Door Music Studio and Joyful Sounds Music Studio, offering comprehensive music education services to families in the region. His teaching specialties include collegiate group piano and private piano for intermediate students and adult beginners. He serves on the board of Piano Teachers’ Forum of Grand Rapids.
Justin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance & Humanities from Indiana Wesleyan University (piano studies with Phoenix Park-Kim, conducting studies with Jason Thompson) and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Missouri Kansas-City Conservatory (piano studies with Robert Weirich). Justin lives with his spouse, two children, and two cats in Grand Rapids’ West Side.