karine vann

I have always been drawn, like a magnet, to the piano. As a 5 years old, living in a compound in Saudi Arabia where my father was stationed for work, I experimented endlessly on the dingy electronic keyboard my mother had purchased for us. I’d spend entire afternoons learning melodies by ear on karaoke setting, tinkering with timbre and rhythm. Thanks to a kindly neighborhood teacher, I quickly learned how to read and write music, and my obsession blossomed.

As with all great loves, there were highs and lows. Upon returning to the states, I spent the next decade studying piano at the Levine School of Music in the Washington DC area. During this time, I was trained in a strictly classical method, in which all creative energy is focused on interpreting the works of great Western composers. Sadly, I would not improvise again until college. In high school, I attended Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute’s summer program. In college, I studied piano technique with Reiko Neriki at Indiana University Bloomington, completing my Bachelor’s in Piano and Psychology with a certificate in Neuroscience.

While at IU, I studied piano pedagogy with Karen Taylor, a renowned teacher of pre-college piano and founder of the prestigious Piano Academy. Her critiques of traditional teaching methods paralleled some of my own experiences: the obsession with reading music to the neglect of listening and playing by ear, the lack of historical and cultural context, the abstract instruction of music theory, the disdain for popular music, and the near total absence of improvisation and creativity at the keyboard. I felt compelled to teach that I might try a more progressive approach.

Upon graduation, I started a small piano studio in Northern Virginia and enrolled in a Master’s degree in piano pedagogy at George Mason University on scholarship. During this time, I started studying jazz and improvisation with prominent DC jazz pianist Wade Beach. My career as a teacher was interrupted when, in 2013, I traveled to Armenia for the first time. The experience of exploring my ancestral roots and witnessing the state of the country shook me. I left the pedagogy course, and thanks to a scholarship from the Armenian government, enrolled in a Master’s program in Musicology at the University of Oxford, where I researched popular music in Soviet Armenia, while studying under Dr. Eric Clarke.

A long and winding road then ensued that took me from Yerevan to New York City to Boston, during which time, I acquired an interest in organic farming, which brought me finally to the Napa Valley in 2022, where I now live with my husband and our two young sons, Tigran and Levon.

In the summer of 2022, I started Janapar Piano Studio, a boutique piano studio of about 20 pre-college students that focuses on cultivating practical musical skills and developing children’s “inner ear.” “Janapar” (pronounced jah-nah-par) is an Armenian word, which translates to "path" or "journey" in English. In the summer of 2026, after 4 years teaching privately, I accepted the role of lead music teacher at Stone Bridge School, a Waldorf-inspired charter school in Napa.

In addition to teaching, I perform locally. My most recent project is a collaboration with Lebanese-Armenian vocalist and duduk player, Khatchadour Khatchadourian, called Barbar Band. For the last three years, I have also lead a weekly music class for pre-K children at Nature’s Way Montessori, where I am continually fascinated at the role music plays in childhood development. And most recently, I have taken on leading 3rd and 4th grade choir at the Stone Bridge School, a local Waldorf charter school in Napa. In my (very rare) spare time, I enjoy being with my kids, gardening, and tackling new instruments, like the guitar and the accordion.