Anna Brock Named 'Teacher of Distinction' by the Royal Conservatory of Music

When you step into pianist Anna Brock’s small office located just behind the Sottile-Thompson Recital Hall, you’ll find not one, but two pianos.

“I'm the only teacher here who prefers to teach on two pianos,” she says, a technique she learned from her own college professors. “That way I can really show students new skills. They can see how I play a piece, or we can play together. It's just my style.”

Brock’s unique style of teaching piano has made her not only stand out as a member of the Performing Arts department at Ashley Hall for over a decade, but now an international award-winning music educator. In 2023, Brock was named a “Teacher of Distinction” by the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), a music education institution which provides a global standard in curriculum design, assessment, performance training, and teacher certification.

Nominated by colleagues Jan Smith, Dr. Elsa Dixon, and Dan McCurry, Brock was selected as a RCM “Teacher of Distinction” based on the following areas of excellence which she has demonstrated both at Ashley Hall and on stages throughout the Charleston community.

Innovative And Exemplary Teaching Practices

As a nationally certified piano teacher with the Music Teachers National Association, Brock has been giving private piano lessons at Ashley Hall since 2013. She is also certified as both an Elementary and Intermediate Teaching Specialist through RCM. Still, she credits much of the success she has teaching students how to play piano to her experience as a performer.

“I'm actually a performer who teaches, I'm not a teacher who performs,” Brock says. “I teach by example, and I like to play for students in the lesson,” Brock says. “Because I'm a performer first, I am able to tell students what I’d like them to do by playing it for them first.”

Balancing teaching and performing is no small feat, but it's one Brock has mastered over the years. She is currently the pianist for the Charleston Gospel Choir and plays keyboard for the North Charleston Pops. She also plays as a local hire keyboardist for musicals, which have included the national Broadway tours of Shrek, Hairspray, Wicked, Les Mis, and more.

Student Achievement and Engagement

Throughout the years, Brock’s students have competed in the Charleston Sonatina Festival which focuses on performing sonatinas and sonatas at various levels, as well as state-level competitions through the South Carolina Music Teachers Association. Many also participate in the RCM Certificate Program which offers piano examinations at all levels.

During RCM examinations, students are tested in a variety of ways, explains Brock, including how well they play pieces, how well they listen, how well they play scales, and how well they sight read. “It's a completely comprehensive exam, and it’s different from anything offered in the United States because it has that listening component,” she says. “Examiners are also trained to an international standard which means there is no grade inflation.”

The prestigious opportunity for students to take RCM examinations has become easier for students to pursue thanks to Brock’s work in certifying Ashley Hall as an official Royal Conservatory exam center in 2018. Now, instead of having to travel to the RCM exam center at the University of South Carolina, students can complete assessments on campus each May.

Commitment and Leadership in Their Community

Along with teaching private lessons, Brock is also a professional piano accompanist, both at Ashley Hall and within the Charleston community. On campus, she lends her talents to choral and orchestral classes on a regular basis as well as to productions throughout the year. In the community, her recent accompanist performances include concerts with Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston Symphony, Charleston Opera Theater, and Small Opera Company.

This April, Brock led a lecture on the art of piano accompaniment for the Charleston Music Teachers Association during which she shared knowledge that has come from playing piano as part of a musical ensemble for conductors. “Many of us begin by learning solo piano pieces, then wind up teaching solo piano pieces to students,” Brock says. “In my own study of piano, I never learned the skills that I needed to play for choirs, orchestras, music theater or opera singers. I had to learn them on my own, so I want to share tips and tricks for other educators, and also an awareness of the world outside of traditional piano.”

DID YOU KNOW? Piano is the most popular instrument for private lesson registration at Ashley Hall, followed by violin. This year, 83 students worked with the School’s six piano teachers, the highest number of piano instructors the Performing Arts department has ever had on staff.