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About Andrew
Andrew’s exposure to a variety of cultures and musical styles in his native home Scarborough, has led him to absorb every musical influence in his path. Choosing eclecticism and integration over a single focused discipline, Andrew embraces all new sounds while retaining a deep love for his roots in classical music, a philosophy he shares and encourages with all his students.
This philosophy has afforded him multiple opportunities to travel across Canada and beyond. His performance experience ranges from playing in Toronto’s thriving comedy circuit, improvising songs at the iconic Second City, to performing in Academy Award-winning composer, John McDowell’s The River Peace Orchestra. As a composer, he’s written jingles and video game music as well as serving as technical supervisor, songwriter, producer, and performer to Bebe Zahara Benet, Rupaul’s Drag Race Season One winner.
With education being his first and biggest passion, Andrew presently focuses on teaching in a variety of environments and caters to students with a diverse set of skills and needs. With over a decade’s worth of teaching experience, Andrew teaches both amateur and professionals, as well as neurotypical and neurodivergent students. He draws from his past professional experiences as both a performer and composer to provide a unique perspective and a one of a kind learning experience.
To learn more about Andrew, you can download his CV here
A Different Song To Play,
A New Story To Share
What others have to say about Andrew:
"We were immediately impressed by Andrew's awareness of and commitment to our child's individual interests and potential. The customization of the content to suit his taste keeps him interested and makes him feel more engaged. Andrew is constructive and firm, while maintaining a kind, empathetic and learner-centred coaching style. As much as our son is learning musically, I think he is also enjoying the relationship he is building with his teacher and mentor, Andrew."- Catherine H."I have had the opportunity to work with Andrew Loay in live shows, song writing and production work. He is very versatile and knowledgeable in many different genres and styles of music which was vital for the projects we were working on. Andrew is very attentive to details, very creative, patient, fast to deliver great and polished work in a very timely manner and above all easy to work with.It was an amazing experience and I know his future is very bright."- Bebe Zahara Benet"We knew from the start that Andrew was the right piano teacher for us. He is professional and approachable, and established an immediate rapport with our daughter that had her asking when he was going to be back for another lesson! He has a clear passion for music and for teaching, and always keeps things fun. We look forward to watching our daughter's skills develop under his guidance."- Denise P."Andrew is thorough, studious and attentive all while maintaining great musicality and a fervor for the art of teaching, performing and composing. Having worked with Andrew as a student, co-writer, co-producer and performance collaborator, I've had to pleasure of witnessing his exceptional skills in multiple areas. His unique grasp of traditional classical technique and modern technology makes Andrew's approach both flexible and forward thinking."- Dakarai"I was skeptical about starting piano lessons as an adult and I thought it would be a challenge but Andrew makes it seem so easy! I look forward to my lesson all week and always leave feeling proud of what I've accomplished. Andrew is very encouraging and supportive and I couldn't have asked for a better teacher!"- Arunima Kapoor"Andrew gets it! He is receptive to unique learning styles and needs, so he can tailor an appropriate, responsive, and successful program of learning to the individual to help them reach their musical goals. Andrew provides a positive, thoughtful and meaningful experience for the student that increases student confidence, enjoyment and ability. I would highly recommend Andrew as a teacher!"- Yolanda P."I am an older student that never studied music before. Andrew is a wonderful teacher. He is able to teach to your learning style. He is never critical but rather very encouraging and thoughtful in his feedback. He is very patient and always looking for ways to help you in your studies."- Renata B."Andrew came highly recommended to me by a friend. He is passionate about music and teaches piano in ways that connect with his students. Introducing contemporary music, besides classical music, has kept my son excited about playing the piano."- Lisa H."It seemed like a daunting task to begin piano lessons as an adult and with no prior musical experience. I was fortunate to have Andrew as my teacher because learning became very enjoyable. A big part of that is how encouraging, and willing he is. I would definitely recommend Andrew to anyone who is looking for piano lessons."- Felipe S.Andrew is a wonderful piano teacher. He is incredibly patient, motivating and inspires our kids with his passion and love for music. He finds different ways to make our kids interested and excited on their piano lessons by letting them choose the music that they want to learn; music from some of their favourite movies, tv shows and even current popular songs. We are looking forward to seeing our kids performing at their recital in June! We would highly recommend Andrew to any parent.- Jerry G."When staff noticed that Kelly’s favourite instrument at Music Therapy was the piano, they decided to research opportunities for piano lessons. Alexandra interviewed several people and narrowed the search down to one — Andrew. We thank Andrew and the staff at Agincourt for making this dream a reality."- Montage Support Services"Andrew is a very patient teacher. He always teaches to his student's strengths and keeps them interested. My son has been taking lessons with Andrew for two and a half and my daughter is just waiting until she's old enough to start lessons."- Alex Y."I didn’t know how to record, now I can play the piano and record it. I’m really happy."- Maggie R.
