About Atheer Youkhana
Atheer Daniel Youkhana is a professional pianist with nearly two decades of performing and teaching experience.
Currently a graduate student at Northeastern Illinois University pursuing a Master of Arts in Music degree in Applied Pedagogy, Atheer also holds a BA in Piano from NEIU, and has taken courses at Oakton Community College and at American Military University. He has earned a certificate in Tales of Musical Journey for Piano from the Irina Gorin Institute.
Mr. Youkhana was introduced to music at an early age by his brothers, and later played keyboards in a rock band. His true inspiration for becoming a professional musician came from listening to the music of internationally-renowned French virtuoso Richard Clayderman. This led to a two-decade long career as an accomplished professional pianist.
During this time, he composed more than 15 original works, which are primarily inspired by Assyrian church music and German classical music. To date, he has published and released two of his compositions on digital platforms.
Atheer’s true passion is imparting his knowledge and experience on aspiring musicians of all ages and skill levels. His philosophy on teaching revolves around giving students the proper, technique-based foundation on which to develop their abilities. He believes that there is no “one size fits all” program, and he tailors his lesson plans according to each student’s unique abilities and skills. This philosophy extends to inventing new teaching techniques to develop hand independence. He will be writing his masters thesis on this discipline.
In his spare time, Atheer enjoys reading history and philosophy.
