Studio Info > About Joy
MY STORY
Hi there, I'm Joy! My husband and I relocated to Saline, Michigan in December of 2019 after living in Bowling Green, Ohio for eight years. About half of my students are Ohio students taking their lessons online, while the other half are Michigan students here in the Ann Arbor area. I've been teaching piano for over twenty years, and I still love it as much as ever! I love working with students and I love passing on my enthusiasm for learning new things and making music.
Biography
Joy Morin is a pianist, composer, and piano pedagogue — and the writer behind ColorInMyPiano.com, a blog for piano teachers. A devoted teacher and lifelong learner, she is driven by a curiosity about how music learning unfolds in musicians of various ages.
Joy teaches students of all ages at her independent piano studio near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and she serves as church pianist and director of music. Her scholarly focus is the intersection of piano pedagogy and music learning theory, particularly the research of Edwin E. Gordon — a focus deepened through years of independent study of his primary writings and archival lecture recordings. She currently serves as Secretary for the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML) and as a member of the Young Musicians (Birth to Age 9) Committee for the Frances Clark Center. She holds multiple GIML certifications in piano and early childhood music alongside RCM certifications in teaching elementary and intermediate piano.
As a presenter, Joy has been featured at MTNA, NCKP, and state conferences across the country, as well as at local chapter meetings throughout the Midwest. Her writing has appeared in Piano Magazine, Clavier Companion, and American Music Teacher, in addition to her own blog, where she has published regularly since 2009. Her leadership in the field includes service on the MTNA National Conference Planning Committee (2022), the MTNA Select Committee on Young Professionals, and state and regional roles in Michigan and Ohio. She is also the founder and host of Retreat at Piano Manor, a professional development retreat for piano teachers, active since 2017 (pianoteacherretreat.com).
As a composer, Joy brings her pedagogical instincts to the page in pursuit of piano music that is artistic yet playable. She publishes with Alfred Music and self-publishes at keysatplay.com, including Keys at Play, Book 1; Incidental Music for Piano; and Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano. She also creates and sells teaching resources at ColorInMyPiano.com/shop.
Joy holds a Master of Music in piano performance and pedagogy from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Music in piano performance, summa cum laude, from Hope College — where she received the MTNA StAR award and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She lives near Ann Arbor with her husband, daughters, and two cats.
Joy teaches students of all ages at her independent piano studio near Ann Arbor, Michigan, and she serves as church pianist and director of music. Her scholarly focus is the intersection of piano pedagogy and music learning theory, particularly the research of Edwin E. Gordon — a focus deepened through years of independent study of his primary writings and archival lecture recordings. She currently serves as Secretary for the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML) and as a member of the Young Musicians (Birth to Age 9) Committee for the Frances Clark Center. She holds multiple GIML certifications in piano and early childhood music alongside RCM certifications in teaching elementary and intermediate piano.
As a presenter, Joy has been featured at MTNA, NCKP, and state conferences across the country, as well as at local chapter meetings throughout the Midwest. Her writing has appeared in Piano Magazine, Clavier Companion, and American Music Teacher, in addition to her own blog, where she has published regularly since 2009. Her leadership in the field includes service on the MTNA National Conference Planning Committee (2022), the MTNA Select Committee on Young Professionals, and state and regional roles in Michigan and Ohio. She is also the founder and host of Retreat at Piano Manor, a professional development retreat for piano teachers, active since 2017 (pianoteacherretreat.com).
As a composer, Joy brings her pedagogical instincts to the page in pursuit of piano music that is artistic yet playable. She publishes with Alfred Music and self-publishes at keysatplay.com, including Keys at Play, Book 1; Incidental Music for Piano; and Composition & Improvisation Prompts for Piano. She also creates and sells teaching resources at ColorInMyPiano.com/shop.
Joy holds a Master of Music in piano performance and pedagogy from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Music in piano performance, summa cum laude, from Hope College — where she received the MTNA StAR award and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She lives near Ann Arbor with her husband, daughters, and two cats.
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Joy is available to provide piano music for weddings, church services, and other events in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area. To find about more about hiring Joy as a solo or collaborative pianist, please visit joymorin.com or contact her via email by clicking here.
