Mélina Dalaire holds a Bachelor of Music (1993) and a Master’s Certificate in Piano Pedagogy Research (2007) from the University of Ottawa. She has been teaching piano privately for the past 30 years. Besides running a successful piano studio at the heart of the Nation’s Capital for the past 20 years, she has also directed children’s choirs, recorder ensembles and taught music in elementary and high schools. She is currently a seasonal lecturer for three undergraduate music education classes at the University of Ottawa’s School of Music and is regularly invited as a clinician specializing in music and movement activities for all ages. Her philosophical ideals relating to music education lie in an “experience before theory“ approach. Her theories of learning are based in the belief that musical understanding begins through feeling and hearing before intellectualizing, regardless of the performance level. She is presently working towards her Dalcroze Certification with Dalcroze Canada and pursuing graduate work at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Prof. Gilles Comeau.