Ten-year-old Presley Calisi constantly begs her piano instructor Morgen Buciak to play something for her to start their lessons at Music As Language in Morgan Hill.
“I listen to her and I’m like, ‘Whoa, I want to play like that’,” said Calisi, who has been fine-tuning her piano skills since picking up the instrument in second grade.
Buciak, who has been teaching at the local studio for more than five years and enjoying the piano most of her life, usually obliges her pupil.
“She always gets real excited when I play for her,” Buciak said. “She says it’s magic when I play….Hopefully, it helps her make her own magic with music.”
That “magic” is exemplified throughout the four-room music studio, which is peculiarly placed in a small business park off Hale Avenue that is mainly reserved for doctor and dental offices.
However, for instructor Majhon Phillips—who happens to be the founder and president of Music As Language—it is the perfect spot to make magic happen for Silicon Valley’s aspiring musicians.
“I’ve been teaching music since I was 16. It was my job through college so I’ve loved it forever,” said Phillips, who earned her Bachelor’s in Music Performance at Southeast Missouri University and then her Master’s in Education at University of Illinois. Even more impressively, Phillips studied vocal performance at the Weimer Conservatory in Germany.
Her studies fueled an appreciation for all types of musical genres and, coupled with her instructional experience, Phillips decided to offer a unique experience. Music As Language offers personalized lessons in voice, piano, guitar, drums, bass, ukulele and banjo.
“I started doing private lessons at students’ homes. It just spread by word of mouth and I had a sprouting population (of students) in Saratoga and Los Gatos, so I was traveling there quite a bit,” said Phillips, who resides in Morgan Hill. “Then, work started picking up in San Jose. Morgan Hill was a bit slow at first, but has become the strongest and best, so I decided to open my home base here.”
Phillips —who now teaches piano and gives voice lessons while also leading courses in songwriting and theory—works with 40 students per week, while her studio staff sees 120 students.
Making music their way
“I’ve learned all the keys and I’ve learned to read the music,” said 7-year-old Brianna Ferguson, of Gilroy, prior to starting her piano lesson with Phillips. “I play for my family every day.”
Similar to Ferguson, 8-year-old Claire Winans, of Morgan Hill, has been learning piano for about a year.
“What made me want to play piano was that I like listening to the piano and thought, ‘I can do that.’ It’s a fun activity to do,” said Winans, a singer as well who is a fan of Dove Cameron from Disney’s “Descendants.” She brought the song book with her to practice a tune or two on the piano. “This is something I want to continue to do.”
By Phillips’ design, a student at Music As Language is not pigeon-holed into one specific genre or instrument. She meshes classical tutorials with modern pop music culture, and it’s always about what the student’s goals and aspirations are when they walk in.
Office manager Pernilla Hansen breaks it down for all prospective clients who usually make phone inquiries before signing up. She’s asks if they have any experience playing an instrument, if the lesson is for themselves or their child, what instrument they are interested in playing, and then offers them a trial lesson to see if the studio is a fit.
“My daughter takes voice lessons with Heather (Faulhaber),” said Hansen, who has watched her daughter break out of her shy, quiet shell since beginning lessons. “She’s improved so much. Heather was able to bring out her voice and her vocal range. She pushes her to be her best.”
Students shine in prestigious competition
Two of this year’s best and most experienced artists at Music As Language have brought a bit of fame to the studio. Pianist Sandhya Sundaram, 14, a freshman at Saratoga High School, recently placed third in the prestigious American Protégé Romantic Music competition. With that accolade, Sundaram earned an invitation to play at the March 26 Winners Showcase at the Weill Recital Hall inside Carnegie Hall in New York City.
“When I was applying I didn’t even fantasize that I would actually be chosen,” said Sundaram, who prepared Liebestraum, No. 3 by Liszt. “I’ve always thought that playing at Carnegie Hall would be one of the utmost achievements of my piano studies, but I never expected to actually get an opportunity to go. I’ve been working for this for a long time, and I’m so excited that it has paid off.”
Another of Phillips’ young prodigies—aspiring pop star Esha K.—received honorable mention in the American Protégé “We Sing Pop” international vocal-pop competition, gaining her worldwide recognition for her voice and songwriting abilities. She prepared “Orange Colored Sky” in the style of Natalie Cole, as well as “Waves,” an original composition, Phillips explained.
“At first, I was hesitant to enter simply due to nerves and uneasiness,” said Esha K. “Majhon saw my uneasiness and used it to encourage and motivate me to take the leap and submit my entry. In the end, I’m glad I entered and I am very happy and proud to be recognized by the judges of the competition.”
While students such as Esha K. aspire “to make a career out of music,” the local studio is for all types—from those just wanting to learn a favorite tune on the guitar to those who want a new experience with music and take it one step at a time. Along with private lessons, the studio hosts group classes for ages 3-5 of about 10 kids and their parents.
“To me the younger students are sort of the palate cleanser. They have their own ideas of what they want and we have them set goals,” Phillips said. “Each year we reset those goals and see where we’re at with them. It helps them grow musically and as individuals.”
Waiting patiently in the studio for his next piano lesson March 14, 11-year-old Daniel Lelesco explains just what it is about the instrument that intrigues him.
“It fascinates me how every single tile makes a different sound using the keys and the different possibilities you can do with it,” said Lelesco, a Morgan Hill resident who has been taking lessons for more than a year. “I want to take it to the next level.”
