Mrs. Judith Cataldo

With many years of experience teaching young people and adults, Judith Cataldo is recognized for her innovations in community music education.  In 2015, she founded the  Musical Arts Piano Conservatory in Tampa, and in 2020, she took the Conservatory completely online.  She now sees students weekly online from coast to coast.  In 2022, she expanded into the San Francisco Bay Area, developing her west coast in-person training program called Artistic Piano Training with Judith Cataldo.  She has 50 + students in her San Bruno studio.

  She holds a Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and a Master's degree in Piano Performance from the University of South Florida's Music School.  She did post-graduate work and earned a piano teaching fellowship at Manhattan School of Music.  While in New York, she also taught young students at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.  Judith started a successful community program in Tampa in 1987 called the Florida Keyboard Arts Center, and in a short time, with enrollment overflowing, this program merged into the Community Music Division at the University of South Florida, a program she developed and founded for the University in 1988.  She was Director of the USF Community Music Division for 7 years and Piano Faculty Chair.  She subsequently stayed on for two years as an instructor before returning to private practice. 

     Judith then developed her love of improvisation and recorded an album of her music entitled "Improvising Life".  She has, over the years, performed in many venues and in many capacities, including solo and chamber music performances in the classical world.  She has also performed in many concerts of her own original music on promotional tours for her album.  A highlight of her career was performing in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in a concert of contemporary music. 

       In 2001, Judith began work as a judge for the National Guild of Piano Teachers.  She has heard and evaluated thousands of students coast to coast.  This experience has polished her skills as a teacher and coach.  Judith's students consistently achieve National and International status in auditions, consistently Superior and Superior Plus rankings in district and state festivals.  She has produced winners of competitions and scholarships.  Numerous students have received their High School Diploma in Piano from the National Guild.  Others have gone on to college-level music training in such schools as Yale, Notre Dame, Longy School of Music in Boston, and Florida State University, to name a few.  Many others have gone on to enjoy music and piano playing, which enhances their lives.