Susan Dahlberg is an outstanding piano teacher. She began teaching my daughter Julia when she was 6 years old, and after 3 years of lessons, I am extremely pleased with how well Julia both plays the piano and understands music theory. Susan makes learning piano fun and interesting for children by allowing them to choose some of their own contemporary pieces, and by using reward charts and prizes to give the kids a sense of accomplishment. Her teaching style is the perfect balance of friendly and encouraging, yet very professional with an emphasis on progress. She sets high expectations and inspires her students through her own love of music. I would highly recommend Susan to any student fortunate enough to work with her.
 
Eleonora Leibman
 
 
Susan Dahlberg taught my son piano for eleven years. Through patient encouragement and positive reinforcement she led him from the discovery of middle C to Bach preludes and fugues and  Beethoven sonatas and a diploma from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. Ms. Dahlberg runs a beautifully balanced piano education program emphasizing technique, theory and musicality at each stage of the student’s development. She is a gifted teacher and I recommend her to you unconditionally.
 
Ann Phillips
 
 
 
Ms. Dahlberg is the best piano teacher! She is an amazing pianist herself and her love and dedication to music is apparent in her teaching.  She has a very well rounded approach and includes theory lessons, performance classes, recitals, and competitions as part of her yearly curriculum.  My son started taking lessons with her when he was 5 years old and is now age 10.  He has greatly improved every year with her not only in skill level, but also in hand position, dynamics and technique.                                                                                             
Kathy Bell
 
Studying with Susan Dahlberg for seven years has helped my daughter develop into a truly talented pianist. She helped bring out her musicality and taught her the subtle nuances of real piano playing. I can truthfully say my daughter is a pianist and will always be a pianist no matter what track she chooses for college, thanks to Ms. Dahlberg. Susan is a caring, patient but disciplined teacher who keeps a child on track without overtaxing them. While many talented pianists are not able to teach effectively and many capable piano teachers are mediocre pianists themselves who nonetheless inspire their students to achieve beyond their teacher, Susan is both a talented pianist and talented teacher. She plays for the children and the rest of the audience after each recital - amazing performances that inspire the children and leave us wanting more. Susan would make any student fall in love with the piano.                                                                                        
Becky Stemper 
 
Susan Dahlberg has been a wonderful piano teacher for my 8 year old daughter, Sarah.  She is not only kind, caring, and very patient, but she truly inspires her students to enjoy learning and to love music.  Susan's passion for teaching is evident:  it can be seen at the recitals where her students of many years perform with great skill and excitement; it is evident as she prepares each student for theory tests and performances; and also as she gently encourages frequent practice, attention to details and dynamics, a fun and relaxed learning environment, and a genuine interest in each student and their family.  The bottom line is that my daughter has looked forward to her piano lessons each week and even her practices and we are sad Ms. Dahlberg is moving! 
Amy Powers
 
My twins studied piano with Ms. Dahlberg for 2 years (kindergarten and first grade). I was amazed at Ms. Dahlberg's ability to challenge and inspire my children at the same time. Ms. Dahlberg has always been able to strike a perfect balance between rigor and gentleness. My children have developed a deep admiration for Ms. Dahlberg and were eager to do their very best, and I feel that Ms. Dahlberg really elicited the best from them. My twins have performed beautifully at recitals and competitions, but more importantly, they have developed a love for music, self-confidence, and a very clear understanding of the dedication and practice necessary to do well. My children looked forward to their lessons without exception as Ms. Dahlberg welcomed them warmly, valued their efforts, and had a fun system of rewards for young children. I can honestly say that I am amazed how far my twins have come in two years; they have achieved far more than I ever expected. I cannot recommend her highly enough. 
 
Yvette Pintar
 
 
 
Over the last six years, Ms. Dahlberg has truly inspired me to improve not only my technical skills but also my musicality. Before starting with Ms. Dahlberg, I was contemplating quitting piano lessons. However, Ms. Dahlberg’s endless enthusiasm and passion for piano convinced me to try harder and taught me to appreciate and love the piano. Ms. Dahlberg has been the best teacher I could have ever hoped to have during the last six years and I would recommend her to anyone.
 
Carolyn Cooper, grade 12
 
 
 My daughter, Amy, was 5 years old when she began lesson with Susan Dahlberg. As a former piano teacher, I recognized natural talent in my daughter and wanted a teacher who would be able to help Amy reach her full potential. Another piano teacher recommended Susan to me, and I am so very glad I took their advice! Susan has a wonderful style with students. She is caring and nurturing, yet professional and motivating. She recognizes students’ musical potential and gently steers them to where they need to be through a variety of music as well as solid music theory instruction. An outstanding pianist herself, one of Susan’s strongest assets is that she teaches students not just to play piano but to play musically. She helped transform my Amy from a little girl with some natural piano ability to a young lady who plays beautifully. If you are looking for a piano instructor for yourself or for your child, I believe you will be hard pressed to find someone better than Susan Dahlberg.
 
Jill Vaughan
 
 
 
  My kids (daughter 12 and son 13) started playing piano with Susan over 4 years ago. Susan is just a wonderful person, and a great teacher. Her approach to the kids was more than I could wish for. In her gentle encouraging way, she was able to get the most out of my kids, each in his own personal level and ability. In a most positive way Susan was able to make the kids want to practice every day, even when there were other distractions. Susan’s patient and inspiration was the reason my kids are still playing today even though most of their friends dropped out of piano by now. Susan is a very professional and dedicated teacher that brought the best out of my kids. They enjoy playing music and would take any opportunity to show off their talent! We were so sorry and sad to hear that Susan had to leave town for personal reason. We will miss her dearly and we wish her all the best!
 
 Tal Egozi
 
 
I have been Susan Dahlberg's student for over 12 years. She made me love and appreciate playing the piano. Her method of teaching is absolutely remarkable. She is very talented and knowledgeable. As a person, she is ideal for teaching. Always very calm and never nervous. And she is a good friend. I shall miss her very, very much.
                                                                                                                                                       
Sara Lazar (adult student)
 
 
 
 
I started taking piano lessons when I was seven, but it wasn't until I turned nine that I began lessons with Ms. Dahlberg, and that was the year I really began to love it. Ms. Dahlberg has high expectations for her students because she wants them to succeed, but her understanding and patience are what really helped me learn.  Her love and enthusiasm for piano inspired me to love it, too, and gradually over the years I learned to incorporate piano practice into my daily routine. Over the years, Ms. Dahlberg became more than my piano teacher. She was a friend to our family, someone we both admired and cared about, and I highly recommend her to anyone who has the desire to learn and love to play the piano.
 
Elizabeth Furlow, college
 
 
Susan started teaching piano to my daughter, Elizabeth, when she was 9 years old and continued teaching her until she went to college at 18.  She also taught my much younger son (age 5 to 7) for two years before she had to leave for Florida.  She is just wonderful.  She was always a serious professional who really cared about increasing my childrens' knowledge of and love for music.  She teaches both performance and theory very well and encourages the kids to be involved in the various music festivals in the area.  My children both love piano and I expect that they will play for the rest of their lives. The real proof is that when Liz came home from college for the summer, she signed up to continue her lessons with Susan!  We'll miss her very much.    
                                            
Lisa Pennington
 
 
I have known Ms.Dahlberg personally for about 4 years. She taught my youngest child who is 14 years old. She is, without a doubt, the most remarkable piano teacher one will ever encounter. She is unfailingly professional, kind, and nurturing, yet very demanding. This is a splendid combination of characteristics that are difficult to find in any one individual. Her piano lessons are effective and efficient and she is able to extract the most from every person without ever being critical and humiliating. Ms. Dahlberg can take the most diffident child and encourage them to work to their maximum and make them love and appreciate all there is to music, whatever it takes. Although she is primarily an instructor of classical music, she has an appreciation for jazz and popular and will use those interests to encourage and prod the most difficult child to keep at it.  Most classical piano teachers look at other styles of music with utter contempt and so lose many youngsters. 
 
I have much experience with piano teachers as I have two older children who also studied classical piano from 2nd thru 12th grades and attended HSPVA, our prestigious public high school for the performing arts. While they had very good teachers, they weren't so lucky as to have had Ms.Dahlberg. She does indeed teach the children theory and ear-training and forces them to perform at well-attended recitals twice a year and also one local piano competition. Her piano recitals were unique in and of themselves. She would carefully divvy up her large piano studio into two groups so the recitals didn't linger too long and the audience was very appreciative. As Susan retains her students, there is a nice representation of skills and ages- from kindergartners through seniors in high school. That is unusual as the attrition rate for many piano teachers is rather striking as most youngsters seem to quit when the practicing gets too demanding. I personally attended the Juilliard Preparatory Division in Manhattan and weathered very mean, exacting, and ultimately deflating teachers. Susan will have none of that behavior and, consequently, her students flourish and are able to perform well (and enjoy that process), and seem to be less afflicted with performance anxiety. Additionally, these recitals were performed at senior citizens' facilities and many of the residents of these communities attended the performances. These attendees seemed very appreciative and it is a marvelous experience for young children to meet these elderly individuals.
 
Susan also makes a point of having performance classes before each of the students' recitals and this is a very unique experience as it requires a lot of extra time of the teacher and most teachers are not willing to put in that kind of extra effort. She talks to the children and is never condescending. She tries to get the younger students to understand the music and to listen critically to other kids' performances. The children adore her and even the most difficult students improve and love her.
 
Susan is also an excellent pianist and has been a soloist at concerts that my family has attended. Additionally, she makes a point of performing for the students and their families at each of her student recitals. That is also very unusual. Most music teachers are very critical but rarely perform in front of their students. This is a great experience for everyone.
 
I was indirectly aware of Susan for many years as I knew of her other students that had attended HSPVA. Her students always seemed very well-prepared for their recitals, very happy and well-adjusted, and actually seemed to like their instructor. All of that was very unusual. Many of the other students were often in very competitive studios and Susan was able to achieve the same degree of success in a more pleasant work environment. You've got to love that. 
 
Most of the piano teachers I've known through the years are very one-dimensional in their passions and interests. But, Susan is also interested in scuba diving and her rehab work with animals. All of this is an important part of who she is and what she brings to your child.
 
In short, I cannot say how sorry I was to see her leave the Houston area. I was indeed looking forward to her working with my child for another 5 years. But, alas, she has moved to Florida and some very lucky young people are going to get to work with a very talented woman.
 
Penny Kroll