In 1993, Ron was invited to join the music faculty of Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo where he taught advanced piano students as well as the obligatory Keyboard Proficiency Course for non-piano students.

In 2013, Ron was honoured to be a member of a mentorship/teaching team which coached twin sisters Nio and Mirin Hirano, at age 10, to become the youngest winners of the Cowichan Consort concerto competition. Here is a link to their performance: Haydn Piano Concerto in D major

Ron was subsequently engaged to oversee preparations for three concerts the girls presented at the Shawinigan Lake School Chapel during the summers of 2014,15 and 16.

These girls, aged 12, are playing so well at the RCM Grade 10 and ARCT levels that, had this been an exam situation, they would have been awarded a high first-class honours grade and quite possibly first-class honours with distinction. This is indeed remarkable especially in the southern Vancouver Island demographic (it was and remains unique in the Cowichan Valley) though somewhat less so in larger centers. Young people in their teens playing at a level, which just a few decades ago was reserved for a relatively small group of elite world class pianists, is now commonplace such that lack of interest in fine piano playing is a local phenomenon not a global one. A good place to see for oneself is The Van Cliburn Junior International Piano Competition on Youtube.

Some readers may be interested in how this was accomplished. I shall be posting some blog discussing the conditions which facilitate this sort of achievement. It had nothing to do with grandiose parental expectation and iron discipline as some may suspect. The short version: It was a labour of love on the part of the students, parents and teachers. When this is present, motivation and discipline are not a problem. It also facilitates playing from the heart in addition to technical correctness which is very much in evidence in their playing. Oh yes, they were adept clowns as well!