Mrs. Goodwin, a native of Northeast Oklahoma, began her piano studies at the age of four with her mother, a pianist and church organist.  She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in piano performance from The University of Tulsa’s Henry Kendall College of Arts and Sciences, where she studied with international performing artist Roger Price, himself a student of Sequeira Costa, who traces his musical lineage to Ludwig van Beethoven.  Past performances and collaborations include the Bartlesville Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Ponca City Symphony, Plano Symphony, Plano Civic Chorus, the Oklahoma State University Concert Chorale and instrumental ensembles at The University of Tulsa and Texas A&M University-Commerce.  Performance repertoire with these ensembles include Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Saint-Saens’ Second Concerto in G minor and Carnival of the Animals, Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.  Mrs. Goodwin has served on the music faculty of The University of Tulsa, Tulsa Community College, Collin College, Oklahoma State University and Texas A&M University-Commerce, as a professor of music theory, music history, piano and as staff accompanist.

Mrs. Goodwin served as the piano lab instructor at Austin Academy for Excellence from 2001-2004, and then returned in 2014.

Contact: Julie Goodwin

Our facility contains 18 digital pianos for the students to use during class.  The keyboards offer a real piano keyboard feel with some fun and exciting extras.  Students can choose from a variety of different electronic sounds to personalize the music they’re playing, and choosing to record their playing allows them to hear their performance immediately.  The recording component includes recorded performances of over 50 masterworks from great composers.  The students can listen to themselves on the headsets that are provided, and ask me questions using the headset’s microphone.

Our classes contain students in all three grades at a variety of ability levels from beginner to advanced.  No prior piano training is necessary, and those who study piano privately may enroll to take advantage of the extra practice time and our wonderful equipment. 

Our curriculum includes basic to advanced keyboard technique, method book study, work at-your-own-pace practice time, and solo and ensemble opportunities.  A piano ensemble is simply a group of 2 or more pianists performing at the same time.  Too often, pianists play only by themselves.  But with our lab setup, our students have the opportunity to play together through their headsets while actually playing on separate keyboards.  Our students perform on an Ensemble Recital in the Fall in the AAE Cafeteria. 

In addition to the Fall Ensemble Recital, we have a Spring Recital in May.  In December, I take the Piano Lab students into the community to perform in recital.   Also, this year, nearly one-quarter of the piano lab students chose to participate in our district’s middle school Piano Solo & Ensemble Contest with the majority of the students receiving a 1^st division rating.

It meets every day at 8:00 and is a class for a grade just like any other class that meets during the day.  Transportation is the parent’s responsibility since the buses don’t run that early.  There are strict attendance guidelines so be sure your student could be here before signing up for this time.  Also realize that 0 Hour piano is a very popular course and usually has a waiting list of students so not all can participate.   If you have questions about 0 Hour, please speak to a counselor.