About Us

Since 1994, our family has been sharing the love and passion for this wonderful world of music with communities of GTA West through teaching, performing, event organizing, donating, and promoting the multiple benefits of music.

Current Clarkson Piano Studio's setting and location represent the completion of the "full circle":

We started in Clarkson and Port Credit as a family teaching studio, expanded to two Clarkson locations (1997, 2005), eventually operating within the 5000 sq. ft. facility until leaving Canada in 2011. A family-related relocation to Europe ended in early 2013, with returning to our roots and reopening in the current family-run studio format, steps apart from our long-standing original Clarkson area location. Welcome to Clarkson Piano and...

Start your piano lessons journey with us today!

We are proud to be honoured and recognized by the City of Mississauga and The Honourable Mayor Hazel McCallion.

Using the form below, please request information needed:

"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without." ~Confucious

Clarkson Piano Studios: What Makes Us Different?

Uncompromising, life-long love and passion for piano, music and teaching is what is behind our Clarkson Piano.

Every moment of every day, we count our blessings to have been given the gift of music by our parents and for receiving the comprehensive formal training from incredible, passionate educators who lived for and loved what they do: teaching music and sharing the joy of music with generations of students. Their passion for music, love and care we were blessed to experience is what lives with us forever and inspires us to pass our very best on to you, our students and their families!

Clarkson Piano continues the tradition of the "Hrovat Piano Studio", established in Clarkson Village, Mississauga, shortly after Boris and their young family immigrated to Canada in January 1994. Graduate of one of former Yugoslavia's most reputable State Conservatory of Music, in a class of incredible Professor Angelina Pap, with a years-long performing, teaching and recording professional music career, Boris' Canadian Music Studio was a natural progression of his already rich musical journey.

But the real roots of "Ontario's Premier Piano Studio," as our families named us, are in a deep passion for piano and music. A passion that has dominated our families for generations.

Boris “grew up with music” with his grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins… teaching, performing, adjudicating, recording, and most importantly, having a memorable, fine family time around a piano.

1) Our passion and love for music and piano, generations-long!

It is no coincidence that Boris’s wife, Vesna, a graduate of the very same University, shares the love and passion for music and is a beloved piano teacher, Principal Instructor and Education Coordinator. Boris and Vesna are so proud of their students and past decades of friendship and relations only piano and music can build.

Today, they are as enthusiastic as ever and excited to have evolved into this comfortable, homey, yet incredibly satisfying educational setting and format - that offers a positive, supportive, inspiring learning environment and a welcoming, pleasant, helpful, progress-focused, enjoyable piano teaching environment.

Clarkson Piano takes pride in the fact that it is rooted in decades and decades of love for piano performance and teaching. The piano retail and piano consulting that has benefited countless families and institutions to date is a natural continuation and expansion built on in-depth piano knowledge and experience.

**Image on the left was taken next to Glen Gould's grand piano, circa 1997, Roy Thomspon Hall

A long list of advanced pianists, teachers, recording and stage artists; venues, educational and other institutions acquired advice and guidance from us:

A life-long relationship with the piano, deep personal investment and interest, over thirty-five years of teaching and live performing on different acoustic pianos, digital pianos, and keyboards, enviable Piano Industry training and contacts contributed to a unique and in-depth understanding of various instruments' responsiveness, durability, versatility, tonal colour, projection, balance, touch and overall performance potential. To delight his colleagues, clients and, most importantly, Clarkson Piano Students and their families.

**The image on the left shows Boris with his beloved mentor, Industry Icon Mr. Hanry Z. Steinwy, at Steinway Hall, New York City, October 1995

Vesna and Boris at sensational Fazioli Piano's World HQ in Sacile, Italy.

Pictured (above) with Legendary Paolo Fazioli and his son Luca, Director of Operations Fazioli Concert Hall Stage (07/2019)

2) Our Teaching Approach:

We are proud of our customized, personalized teaching program that boosts self-confidence and self-esteem while teaching music more rationally and meaningfully. We explain and clarify the music’s universal concept, which is common throughout the styles. We introduce the building blocks of music – melody, harmony and rhythm in a considerate and age-appropriate way.

We passionately and tirelessly promote the beauty and fun of music-making as a gift for a lifetime. We always think of the incredible musical and non-musical benefits of studying music - in our positive and friendly environment of patience, encouragement, support and motivation.

3) Our Teaching Program

Our main teaching program is a World-Class Royal Conservatory of Music Program - Internationally recognized as a standard of music education excellence. We recommend and teach the Royal Conservatory of Music Program and have successfully prepared students for all levels of RCM Examinations since 1994!

We also like playing, teaching popular music, and exploring different styles with our students.

We recommend:

We invite you to take part in the preparation and completion of a music examination with the Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations. Students who use the curriculum of The Royal Conservatory of Music are following a well-balanced course of study, internationally recognized for more than one hundred years.

The Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum is one of the best-designed and most comprehensive programs, incorporating ALL essentials to develop skilled musicianship.

Behind the RCM curriculum is over a century of experience, generations of students and teams of the finest educators constantly searching for THE BEST in the musical educational field.

The Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music program is a true hallmark of quality music education, recognized coast-to-coast in Canada, the US and internationally.

This World-Class, World-Recognized Program offers high-school credits, tax and RESP benefits (please inquire with your accounting professional).

Most of all, we are convinced that the RCM program is a well-structured, comprehensive teaching program that successfully balances the values of traditional music instruction with the expanded needs of 21st-century students.

4) Our Location/Studio Setting:

From our original Studio Locations located on Lakeshore Rd in Port Credit and in Clarkson, it was our goal and dream to provide our students not just with the best possible guidance, program and teaching format but the most comfortable, relaxing, stress-free, enjoyable Studio setting. While our spacious Studio contrasts the "typical business format (i.e. small boxed room)," the Clarkson Piano experience starts even before entering the teaching area: we are situated in a ravine, facing charming Turtle Glenn Park. Visit us and experience for yourselves the lush nature surrounding our beloved Clarkson Piano Studio. Please check more images here

5) Our Background and European Heritage:

As said about us:) :

"The Founders of The Clarkson Piano Studio are European-trained science and healthcare professionals with European Music Degrees and extensive international performing and teaching experience. They don't just say it. They live it: after retiring early from their original professions, they pursued their true love - Music! And they passionately share this love and admiration for music with their students.

"Music is the universal language that needs no translation and reaches across cultures, borders and continents! Music is the medium of peace, cooperation, and sharing: Music is about quality of life at its finest!"

6) Our Parenting Experience:

How many times you've heard of people feeling sorry for giving up on piano lessons at some point in their early life? Contributing factors are many, including, let's face it, parents' push and/or taking piano lessons from a disciplinarian teacher with perhaps unreasonable expectations. And, really, who likes to be under pressure and practice the same thing over and over endlessly?

As parents - we indeed understand. We wished to give the gift of music to our kids while facing the reality of modern-day parenting, including strong and unavoidable cyber/digital/social/media influences and modern culture.

Despite common life's ups and downs, the right balance of support, guidance, and musical and life advice helped our kids' friendship with music flourish! We are particularly proud of raising our kids with piano and their Piano Diploma achievement! From that parenting experience, we learned what no school or course could teach: we approach each and every student with the same passion and desire to help them get the incredible gift of music forever!

7) Our Community Involvement:

Yes- our walls are decorated with 'Thank You" letters and Award Certificates. We are proud of our long-standing community involvement that includes donating grand, vertical and digital pianos for events, donating instruments to needy educational institutions (Zareinu; Cawthra Secondary School; Local places of worship and more), sponsorship and co-sponsorship of various efforts and good causes (Food Bank, Clarkson Community Concerts and more) financial contribution to many charities; we donated our time and skills enhancing with our musicianship the numerous fundraising and community efforts such as The Rotary Clubs (30 years of collaboration), Alzheimer's Society of Peel, The Credit Valley Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital and University Health Network to name the few.

We are a family-run and family-oriented school with a strong presence in the community since 1994! Again, we don't just love music; we believe in and enthusiastically promote the power of music and music's multiple benefits.

8) Our Performance Opportunities:

Our family provided our students with two to four (per year) live performance opportunities for nearly three decades! Our students are offered public performance opportunities every school year. Student Recitals resumed after the pandemic hiatus. Recitals are fun, non-competitive, yet important confidence-building events for sharing students' talents and acquired skills in a supportive, friendly environment. They feature the most important performers of all – our students!

Our most recent Summer Recital was held on June 25th, 2023, in our Recital Room. Students had a unique opportunity to perform on the specially prepared Concert Level, Premium quality Steinway Grand Piano Model B. As always, the students' performances were followed by "Our Musical Gift To You" - Clarkson Piano's "Musical Gift Performances," featuring a very cool Program: Theme songs from "The Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Game of Thrones"; Legendary Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" ragtime song, passionately presented by David, and timeless compositions by legendary, late Michelle LeGrand.arranged and performed by Boris.

The Past Performances were held at the Green Room, Remenyi House of Music, Toronto, at The Living Arts Centre, Mississauga, The Grand Hall of Mississauga's City Hall and many other fine venues.

In addition, we've offered to our students and to our community motivating and inspiring performances and appearances by many professional artists. Below is a short list of the past guest performers:

Frequent free-of-charge inspiring and motivating events - Concerts, master classes, Special Appearances & and more, featuring great performing artists:

Adam Timoon, vocal & guitar - recording artist, arranger, composer,
Alan Sitar, recording artist, jazz-pianist
Alexander Sevastianov, Accordionist, International recording artist and Quarteto Gellato soloist
Atsuko & Alan –Montreal-based Duet Jazz guitar & keyboards, recording artists
Boris Kvint – Orchestral percussionist and drummer, International recording artist
Goran Goyevich, Clarinetist – concert, recording artist
Irina Semenova Thain, concert pianist, recording artist
Kolio Kolev, Guitarist – recording artist
Kathleen Csilah, Budapest, Hungary-based Concert-pianist & recording artist
Rudy Nyari – Budapest, Hungary-based violinist, recording artist
Svetlana Goyevich, Concert-Pianist
Thomas Nagy – Guitarist, recording artist
Benjamin Zsoldos - Budapest/Vienna - based; Concert pianist
Planet Music – Trio, International recording artists
Maria Dolnycki, Toronto-based artist, RCM veteran Examiner, Concert-pianist
Frank Yerka, Prague Czech Republic - based; Concert Pianist, and founder of “The Building Blocks of Music” method
"Piano Fantasy by Boris" - Canadian Concert and Recording Project
Don Kerr, an Established Canadian performing artist & many more!
Alexander Sevastianov, Canada's foremost accordion virtuoso, International Concert Artist

9) Our Facilities:

After they transfer their kids from the big-box facility to Clarkson Piano, parents often say what Maurine summarized below:

"While the exterior facade is important, the core substance - the passion, the patience, care and individual attention are the most important!" Maurine, Oakville, ON

We own our facilities that are conveniently located in the heart of the charming Clarkson Village, yet situated literally on Turtle Glen Park.

The beauty of nature was the source of inspiration to greats like Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky ...and our location indeed provides the feeling of peace and tranquillity that our parents and students immediately notice and very much enjoy and appreciate!

On a more practical note, our friendly location offers plentiful parking (yes, even in the shade, if preferred) and is connected by the convenient walkway to the nearby Home Sense plaza, banks, stores, and restaurants dotting the Clarkson Village.