About Mate Marcina
Mate Marcina is the Music Director and a piano teacher at Grace Music School, where he has been a member of the faculty since 2015. He is an accomplished classical and jazz pianist, an award nominated composer and arranger, and a dedicated educator, who has studied and honed his skills in Europe and the US. A graduate of the renowned Manhattan School of Music (MM, 2016), Mate holds degrees in Classical Composition, Music Pedagogy, Jazz Composition, and Jazz Piano.
While studying at the University of Ljubljana Academy of Music, (BM, 2013, summa cum laude), he was a student of Professor Andrej Jarc, one of the most prominent classical pianists and educators in central and southeast Europe. Mate regularly collaborated with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Symphonic Orchestra of the RTV Slovenia, and the RTV Slovenia Big Band, performing as a featured soloist, writing original orchestral compositions, and big band arrangements. He also wrote numerous works for solo artists, duos, small chamber groups, and routinely performed as an accompanist. In 2013, he performed along with the Symphonic Orchestra of the RTV Slovenia, premiering his own Piano Concerto, a composition fusing classical and jazz influences, for which he received a University of Ljubljana Preseren Award nomination for the highest artistic achievement. His solo piano career spans across multiple decades and continents, solo recitals, venues, and recordings.
Having studied under the mentorship of worldwide recognized jazz artists such as Richard Sussman, Phil Markowitz, Jim McNeely, and Mark Soskin, Mate is also an active jazz pianist and composer, and has collaborated with some of the most exciting young international artists such as Giorgi Mikadze, Jake Hertzog, Shai Golan, Sergej Avanesov, Jan Kus, Matej Hotko, and many others.
As an educator, Mate strives to offer conservatory level instruction to all his students, regardless of age, or experience level. Focusing on control, precision, proper and efficient technique, good reading comprehension, one of his main goals is also to make sure that students over time become equipped with the understanding, and the tools allowing them to become fully self-sufficient and independent musicians. His students regularly participate in recitals, NYSSMA, ABRSM, and RCM examinations. His unrelenting passion for great piano instruction has been recognized by Steinway & Sons, making him a proud Steinway & Sons Education Partner, and over the years awarded him multiple Steinway & Sons Outstanding Teacher awards.
