Royal Academy of Creative Arts

A Concerning Experience With a Private Piano Teacher

I would like to share our recent experience as a caution to other parents who may consider hiring this teacher for their children. We enrolled my young daughter in Emmanuel’s private piano lessons. He usually comes to our home for each session. We admittedly forgot to pay the monthly fee, and I informed him that we would settle it during his next visit. At the beginning of the new month, he came and completed the lesson while I was not at home, although other adults were present. He did not mention the outstanding payment at all during the visit. However, the moment he left our home, he began sending me messages containing rude and unpleasant language. He then unilaterally threatened to “terminate the lessons” as a way to pressure and intimidate us into immediate payment. I was shocked and confused because my family had already prepared the payment—he simply chose not to say anything in person. It is difficult to understand why someone who teaches children would behave in such an unprofessional and hostile manner once he walks out the door. When we requested a simple statement or invoice, he refused and instead sent more threatening and offensive messages. What disappoints me most is seeing such negativity and aggression from a music teacher, someone who is supposed to guide and inspire children. Is this the character and attitude we want passed on to our innocent kids? I originally intended to post the above comments on his company website and noticed there is already a review there; I will not comment further on that, and anyone interested can look it up themselves. However, I was surprised to find that I apparently cannot leave a new review there, and the possible reasons behind this are rather disturbing to think about.