About Tad Janik
Tad Janik started his career in the music industry at the age of 16 when he got his first professional engagement as a piano player. A few years later he obtained a degree in Music Education, Concert Piano and received a thorough training as a voice teacher. His skills, talent, work ethic and dedication quickly resulted in moving on to become a full time touring musician and recording artist.
Tad has performed on 3 continents leading backup bands for some major European pop stars, writing, recording and producing a number of hit songs. As a pianist/keyboardist he has performed at some of the most prestigious events in the word including CMA Awards and Latin Grammy Awards. He has also shared the stage with some nationally recognized recording artists including country super star Gretchen Wilson, Cracker, Jerry Goodman of the famed Mahavishnu Orchestra. Locally, Tad has performed at some of the most prized venues and events including Jazzing at the Shedd and the All Souls Jazz Fest. The latter got him a very favorable review by one of the most respected jazz critics in the USA Howard Reich of The Chicago Tribune.
Even though Tad remains very active on the local music scene both as an instrumentalist and a recording artist, a few years ago he decided to spend more time sharing his knowledge, expertise and passion for music with those who want to learn or improve their piano playing and singing abilities. He has since built a very loyal roster of students. Some students have chosen to pursue music as a career.
His top piano students have progressed to play some of the most challenging and advanced classical pieces like the ” 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody ” by F.Liszt, the ” Moonlight Sonata ” by L.V. Beethoven or the ” Scherzo in Bb Minor ” by F. Chopin. His voice students and collaborators performed at such well known venues and events as Carnegie Hall, X-Factor voice competition and American Idol, while others were successful in local school competitions and auditions for musical theater productions.
Tad`s approach to teaching is carefully customized and depends on a number of factors including the student`s age, skill level, desire to learn, immediate and long term goals and needs, musical preferences, time and willingness to practice. With very young students , for example , he tries to make it as much fun as possible, with more mature and goal oriented adults he discusses different methods, their pros and cons to come up with the program that will best suit the student and yield the optimum results. Because of his own outstanding piano ability and versatility he not only explains, but also effectively demonstrates how to overcome technical difficulties and improve skills. Last but not least due to his passion for music and personality he also motivates and inspires.
