Janisa Tharp is a 3rd generation music teacher specializing in piano and voice. Born on October 3, 1980 in Logan, Utah and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, she relocated to Colorado in 2007 with her husband Paul and daughter Laera. They live in Highlands Ranch with their two dogs.
Janisa began her piano instruction at the age of 2 with her father, Suzuki-trained piano instructor Paul Nickels. After moving from Utah to Nevada in 1985, he began teaching with Nevada School of The Arts at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and Janisa participated in recitals, concerts, and book exams as part of the program.
As a teenager Janisa also studied with Muriel Adler and attended the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts as a piano performance major under Mary Straub. She also participated in numerous competitions including the Clark County School District Solo and Ensemble Piano Festival as well as the Bolognini Scholarship Competition. Janisa attended several Suzuki Institutes with her father over the years where they received training from respected teachers including Cleo Brimhall and Dr. Haruko Kataoka.
Janisa's first experiences with teaching music began with her two youngest sisters, AmyAnika and Cara. From an early age Amy would sit on Janisa's lap while she practiced and was delighted to be shown how to make pretty noises by touching the keys. By the age of just 19 months, Amy was able to sit at the piano by herself and play several short songs with her tiny little fingers, including Twinkle Little Star.
Music has always been a big part of Janisa's life, and teaching allows her to combine her love of music with her love for children. With an easygoing, fun-loving personality and a teaching style emphasizing repetition and positive encouragement, Janisa has taught children, teenagers, and adults to develop their undiscovered talents. Although the majority of her formal training has been in classical piano, Janisa's musical leanings also extend to singing, which began as a hobby and evolved into vocal coaching. She began formally teaching in 2004 on a part-time basis, and since relocating to Colorado she has been able to devote more of her time to music.
Janisa's hobbies include reading, travel, skiing, ballroom dancing, arranging music, and singing with the performing group Musically Inclined. |
