“Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.” -Tom Lehrer
About the teacher
Patty Williamson
Raised in a large, musical family in Houston, I earned a BM in piano performance and music education with all-level classroom certification from Lamar University in 2002, and began my career teaching band and piano in Bridge City ISD. I opened Williamson Piano Studio in 2006, earning membership on the national honor roll of Guild teachers while raising five musical children. I went back to the classroom in 2017 to teach elementary music in Port Arthur ISD, earned a master’s degree in piano performance in 2022, and returned to PAISD to teach 9th grade piano & choir. In September 2024 I look forward to reopening my home studio in Nederland full-time!
I have actively performed in the Beaumont area for twenty-five years, accompanying for UIL Solo and Ensemble, TMEA region choirs, Beaumont Symphony League String Competition and Beaumont Interfaith Choral Society.
I am currently principal keyboardist for the Symphony of Southeast TX and pianist for St. Andrews Presbyterian Church. I serve as secretary for Beaumont Music Teachers Assoc. and conduct an acapella youth chorus at Nederland Ave Church of Christ.
Last fall I proudly performed Rhapsody in Blue in collaboration with my son Ethan in his junior recital as part of his jazz studies/music education degree. This fall I proudly send my daughter to college as a music minor and biology major.
I enjoy playing euphonium, hiking, kayaking, running 5Ks, and being an active mom.
About my program
I love teaching music because I love people - especially the growing & learning kind of people, and the many benefits of a music education on students of all ages are well documented. Music engages multiple areas of the brain simultaneously, developing fine motor, language, reasoning, and listening skills, and improving memory.
Collaboration, improvisation, and performance are all key musical elements that I encourage from the start, as they promote confidence in creative thinking and problem solving. They’re also a lot of fun - very important.
Through single or two-person lessons, I take my students through the fundamentals of proper technique, music reading, ear training, music theory (including a practical knowledge of chord use), quality literature, and history.
I always strive to keep the learning environment positive and encouraging. Piano does require diligent practice, but it should not be just one more source of pressure in addition to schoolwork, testing, etc.. Rather, my hope is that the work involved provides an enjoyable creative outlet to aid with life’s stressors. I encourage regular musical collaboration among my students for the added initiative it provides, especially friendship. Group lessons will be coming as soon as I can purchase additional pianos.
After almost forty years of playing piano, the friendships I’ve gained through musical study and collaboration have been a continuous, profoundly rewarding source of fun in my own life. It’s a gift my parents gave me that never stops giving, and one I strive to give to my students.