Rachel Panay Raziel

Duke Ellington School of the Arts graduate and Berklee College of Music (Honors) alumna offering structured, personalized piano and voice lessons in NW Washington, DC (Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, U Street Corridor) and online.

With over 20 years of professional performance and teaching experience — including Billboard-charting recording work — I combine disciplined technique with musical imagination to help students build real, lasting skills.

Music has been the driving force of my life. From early classical training to Musical Theater at Duke Ellington and Vocal Performance & Commercial Arranging at Berklee, my path has always been rooted in disciplined study and deep artistic curiosity. That same commitment to excellence shapes my teaching.

I work with children, adults, beginners, advanced students, and aspiring professionals. Lessons are structured, goal-oriented, and tailored to each student’s musical interests — from classical and musical theater to jazz, pop, R&B, gospel, and songwriting — while following a sequenced curriculum that builds strong technique and confidence.

This is not a “just press a few keys and have fun” approach. Students develop real musicianship — reading, ear training, phrasing, breath control, theory, and performance presence — and are guided toward playing meaningful music early in their training. You will see and hear measurable progress.

I view lessons as a true collaboration. My goal is to give each student the technical foundation and artistic confidence to play or sing what they hear in their heads and feel in their hearts. Technique is the bridge to artistic freedom.

Students in my studio learn to:

• Build strong technical foundations
• Understand music theory in a practical way
• Perform with confidence
• Set goals and achieve measurable progress

Excellence and enjoyment are not opposites — they fuel each other.

Whether you are beginning, returning after years away, or preparing for auditions, I look forward to helping you grow.

Music is a lifelong pursuit — let’s pursue great music together.