Lazarus Studio has been teaching students in Massachusetts since 2000.

Penny’s Education and Training

Unlike most music teachers, I bring a specialist's background in education as well as music. I received my bachelor's degree in Education, Psychology, and (of course) Music from the University of Pittsburgh, followed by a master's degree and Ph.D. coursework in Art History, also from Pitt.

I have taught students of every age group, including adults. I am certified in Kindermusik and trained in Suzuki Piano, eurhythmics, and voice. I am also a certified middle school social science teacher and a former college professor of art history. I hold memberships in the National Guild of Piano Teachers, the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the National Association for the Teaching of Singing (NATS), and I am a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM).

I serve as alto section leader and a board member of the Newburyport Choral Society, and I travel each summer to sing with Berkshire Choral International (BCI). My playing can be heard on the Super Score App by TimeWarp Technologies, under Penny Lazarus Publications.

I am honored to have received two grants — the Piano Inspires Community Impact Project and the Allison S. Barr Innovation Award — to pursue language support through music with the Immigration Institute of New England. In May 2026, the Newburyport Human Rights Commission recognized this work with a Peace Prize for helping to eliminate prejudice, intolerance, discrimination, and hate in the community.

Biography

I am originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I have been performing and practicing piano since college, studying with renowned teacher Natalie Phillips at the University of Pittsburgh and participating in masterclasses with notable pianist Eunice Norton, herself a student of Artur Schnabel (a well-known Beethoven scholar). In addition to piano performance and education, I have eight years of classroom teaching experience in middle school and at the university level.  In Pittsburgh, I started the Jackson Street Piano Studio, where I taught piano performance, music theory, history, and composition.  In 2000, I moved to Massachusetts’ North Shore with my husband, Josh Faigen (a playwright), and our sons, Adlai (now a technical lighting and sound specialist for theatre and music), and Max (a jazz drummer who has a career in recording production as well as corporate convention space management).  I volunteered in the Newburyport Public School system, creating educational gardens and teaching horticulture and environmental studies, served on the Newburyport Schools Superintendent’s Strategic Planning Committee, and was awarded the Ed Molin Award for Exceptional Volunteer Teaching in the Newburyport Public Schools.

With this unique blend of teaching and experiences, the creative work we do has become noticeable. I am a regular speaker at national music conferences. I also publish in the National Association for Music Education (NAFME), the Piano Magazine, organized by the Francis Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy, as well as the American Music Teacher periodical for MTNA. My students love to see their piano project work acknowledged in print! When not teaching piano, I study vocal performance, sing in choral groups, read fiction, garden, and walk our dog, Tess.

Penny's Teaching Philosophy

At Penny Lazarus Piano Studio, no two students are taught the same way.  Instead, I address each child’s learning style and teach in a way most appropriate to the individual.  Students don’t just learn to read notes — they discover patterns, repetitions, and connections in the music, learn rhythm by moving and melody by listening, making practice more productive and learning more enjoyable.

Our emphasis is on problem-solving and investigating mistakes as opportunities.  I model how to practice and how to break a big project into smaller steps and reasonable time frames.  Students learn that tackling a piece of music is no different than handling a project at school by working progressively through a ladder of goals. Students study a variety of piano music from all over the world, although the emphasis is placed on learning to appreciate classical music by underrepresented composers.  Students in our studio become confident and polished musical performers, and many go on to major or minor in the performing arts in college.