Born in Sendai, Japan and raised in Victoria BC, Aimi Howden’s music making journey began when she was three years old in group piano lessons. From then onwards, her love for music grew with every year as she studied with notable pedagogues including Kelly Charlton, and later, Professor May Ling Kwok at the University of Victoria, where in 2018, she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance with Distinction. In 2020, Aimi graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master of Music in Piano Performance and Pedagogy under the tutelage of Dr. Midori Koga. At the University of Toronto, Aimi developed a keen interest for unconventional practicing methods, researching what she called “co-operative practicing” for children.
Aimi is a passionate educator with many years of experience, teaching piano, theory, and history to students of all levels and ages since 2014. While living in Toronto, she studied various teaching methods and taught for two music schools including the Classical Music Conservatory in Roncesvalles, and the University of Toronto Piano Pedagogy Program, where she meticulously developed private and group lesson plans. Aimi is an active performer in solo and chamber works and especially enjoys her work as one half of the Harrison Garden Duo, exploring two-piano compositions with her incredible duo partner, Jany Lu.
Aimi is thrilled to be a member of the keyboard faculty with the Victoria Conservatory of Music and continues to create a positive learning environment where students can have fun making music and developing physical facility in their piano playing. She looks forward to joining students’ ventures in finding their own individual sound and voice at the piano.