John Lainer
PIANO INSTRUCTOR
John Lanier is a contemporary classical composer-pianist and music educator based in
Los Angeles, California. He specializes in piano, orchestral, and traditional Japanese music and
teaches music from all periods of academic study. He is versed in multiple idioms and writes to
make connections with his fellow persons.
Originally seeking a career as a professional athlete, John discovered his love for music when he took his first piano class in high school under the instruction of Brenda Hunter and became passionate about the music of Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, Debussy, among others. In particular, John was drawn not merely to the highly virtuosic elements of these pieces, but rather to their compositional aspects, inspiring his love for creating his own music.
John has taught all ages, and performed and composed at a professional level for nine years. His areas of study includes a comprehensive understanding of the common practice era, twentieth-century analysis and composition, jazz studies and practice, improvisational experience in jazz and historical music, interests in traditional Japanese music, choral music and singing, and the Taubman approach to piano technique. John has had his pieces played numerous times, was a featured soloist at Bakersfield Colleges choral concert in the Spring of 2019 where he performed original piano works and was invited to perform and showcase his compositions for the President of Cal State LA twice. He has studied with Dr. John Gerhold at Bakersfield College and Drs. Robert Ward and John Kennedy at California State University, Los Angeles.
As the only child of a family full of philosophy and logic majors to study music, John’s view of music is heavily influenced and inspired by thought and the philosophy of aesthetics, giving him a unique mindset and approach to music. John’s goal is to become an established composer of contemporary classical, film, and Japanese traditional and pop music and to continue teaching, making as many connections as he can along the way.
Originally seeking a career as a professional athlete, John discovered his love for music when he took his first piano class in high school under the instruction of Brenda Hunter and became passionate about the music of Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, Debussy, among others. In particular, John was drawn not merely to the highly virtuosic elements of these pieces, but rather to their compositional aspects, inspiring his love for creating his own music.
John has taught all ages, and performed and composed at a professional level for nine years. His areas of study includes a comprehensive understanding of the common practice era, twentieth-century analysis and composition, jazz studies and practice, improvisational experience in jazz and historical music, interests in traditional Japanese music, choral music and singing, and the Taubman approach to piano technique. John has had his pieces played numerous times, was a featured soloist at Bakersfield Colleges choral concert in the Spring of 2019 where he performed original piano works and was invited to perform and showcase his compositions for the President of Cal State LA twice. He has studied with Dr. John Gerhold at Bakersfield College and Drs. Robert Ward and John Kennedy at California State University, Los Angeles.
As the only child of a family full of philosophy and logic majors to study music, John’s view of music is heavily influenced and inspired by thought and the philosophy of aesthetics, giving him a unique mindset and approach to music. John’s goal is to become an established composer of contemporary classical, film, and Japanese traditional and pop music and to continue teaching, making as many connections as he can along the way.
