All about Virgin Rock Channel

Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher. Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., she holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching. She has been teaching for almost two decades, has taught both in the US and in Europe, and is active as a soloist and collaborative performer.

Her students have gone on to pursue music studies on scholarship at Oberlin and Eastman. She frequently presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, teaching at workshops and music camps in Chicago, Indianapolis, and throughout Tennessee, and has been on faculty at National Summer Harp Academy since 2008.

Amy maintains an active teaching, coaching, and performing schedule. She is passionate about making high-caliber music-learning opportunities available to all, regardless of the limits that geographical location or financial resources can impose, and pours a lot of love into teaching elementary and preparatory students in rural middle Tennessee. In addition, she teaches remote and long-distance students online. One of her specialties is helping musicians recover from and prevent performance injuries. She is certified in multiple restorative movement modalities and applies this work with her students to ensure optimum performance in all areas.

“I love challenges, and I love to learn. It’s always healthy to step outside of one’s comfort zone, and this channel documents just one such journey for me, as I step into a world of music that is very foreign to me. Rock music is not young and new anymore, and we can begin to say that it is holding up to the “test of time.” And if there is any significant value to it, then it deserves more attention than mere casual listening.

I believe that we should not dismiss something simply because we don’t instantly “like” it. In fact, many times, the things which are not instantly relatable are the ones which have the deepest meaning and value, offering far more enrichment than something which is instantly accessible on the surface. And so with Rock music, we should take time and put effort into understanding it, and look deeply to see what it has to give us. So, I have determined to give it just such attention.

While many of my projects which I undertake to challenge myself stay private and are known only to myself or those closest to me, I’ve chosen to make this one public, and I hope that others will enjoy seeing — maybe even participating in — my experience and perhaps be inspired to try something new for themselves, too!” — Amy