Bob Hinz has been teaching piano since 1975, mostly in the Huntington and Plainview areas of Long Island, New York. Bob has also held a full-time music professorship at SUNY Fredonia, near Buffalo, New York, and served on the music adjunct faculties at Nassau and Suffolk Community Colleges. Currently, he teaches piano and harmony at Five Towns College, in Dix Hills, New York. Bob's current student roster includes beginning through advanced pianists of all ages, mainly in classical and jazz idioms. Bob holds a student recital every one to two years for all of those who wish to participate.

Bob holds three music degrees: a Ph.D. in Piano Performance from New York University, a Master of Music degree in Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, and A Bachelors degree in Music Theory from SUNY Stony Brook. Bob currently holds a permanent New York State Public School Teacher Certification in Music, K-12. He is a member of the International Association of Jazz Educators, the College Music Society, and the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. He was also awarded an Academic Achievement Award from New York University in May in 1996. He occasionally serves as an adjudicator for NYSSMA.

Bob has studied privately with a number of recognized pianists in various instructional settings. His classical piano teachers include Nurit Tilles (SUNY Stony Brook), Blair Cosman (Eastman School of Music), and Avraham Sternklar. He has studied jazz piano privately with Vince Maggio (University of Miami), and Jim McNeely (New York University). Bob also studied improvisation with Ramon Ricker and Bevan Manson (Eastman School of Music), and composition with Peter Winkler (SUNY Stony Brook).

Bob's recent performances include recitals at the Half Hollow Hills Public Library, the South Huntington Public Library, the Port Washington Public Library, and the Long Beach Public Library. Other venues include many jazz clubs in the New York area. Bob has also served as a pianist for the Long Island Guitar Festival for a number of years, and pianist and accompanist for the Roslyn Presbyterian Church from 2001-2004.

Although Bob's teaching philosophy cannot be summarized in a few sentences, he does consider certain principles most important. "Rhythm is perhaps the most neglected area of teaching, given that it takes a lot of work to get a student to play rhythmically. Nevertheless, you simply cannot escape the necessity of emphasizing it in your teaching approach. I also try to get students to develop in areas of technique, theory, reading, and general performance skills." Another area that Bob believes is of most importance in teaching is maintaining a good relationship with students. "I try not to push too hard, and maintain positive feedback with students, but I'm also firm about practicing and paying attention during the lesson."

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