san diego piano academy
Piano Lessons in La Jolla & UTC
San Diego Piano Academy brings its elite piano instruction to La Jolla and UTC through Distinguished Artist Faculty member Kay, a doctorate-level pianist with over 30 years of teaching experience and a career on the University of San Diego music faculty. Same institution, same standard, with a local team built to teach every level, from first lessons to advanced, audition-ready students.
In 2026, sdpa students took all three top spots in the 15-18 division at the MTAC Southern Regional, the largest competition stage in Southern California. Our students go on to top conservatories.
A Banner Year
Meet Kay
One Standard, Every Teacher
Every sdpa teacher meets the standard set by our Artistic Director, Chetan Tierra, a celebrated international concert pianist and one of only four Americans to compete at the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition. Kay brings a standard entirely her own: a doctorate in piano performance, three decades on the University of San Diego music faculty, and a career spent preparing students for the most competitive conservatories in the country. She now teaches exclusively through sdpa.
Meet Kay
Kay has lived and taught in San Diego since 1982. She holds a doctorate in piano performance from the University of North Texas, where she studied with Leventritt winner Tong-il Han, along with degrees from Arizona State University. She spent five years as an assistant professor at Point Loma Nazarene University before joining the University of San Diego music faculty in 1991, where she taught for over three decades until her retirement in 2022, including a decade as Program Director for the Liberal Studies Program.
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For more than 30 years, Kay has chaired the MTAC-San Diego Concerto Competition, one of the most respected competitions in the region, and she's a frequent adjudicator for competitions across the Southwest, including the San Diego Symphony's "Hot Shots" Competition and the Virginia Waring Piano Competition. Her former students have gone on to San Francisco Conservatory, MIT, NYU, Wellesley, Yale, USC, and other top programs. Several are now professional performers, composers, or piano teachers themselves.
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Since retiring from USD, Kay has focused entirely on private teaching, now exclusively through sdpa, bringing that same standard, decades of experience preparing students for serious auditions and competitions, to La Jolla and UTC families.
What Students Say About Kay
"Dr. Etheridge's unwavering support and artistic insight propelled me to embark on a journey of becoming a professional musician. I can't imagine a better teacher for a young musician who might be looking for technical and artistic excellence in their piano playing." - Anthony Kim, now an artist-pianist, piano and violin instructor, and conductor at San Diego Youth Symphony
"Dr. Etheridge has been a part of our family for the past 16 years teaching and mentoring our three children with their piano studies. She helped each child develop a solid piano performance and music theory foundation while allowing them to explore different genres of music, and providing ample opportunities for performances through studio recitals, local music competitions, festivals, guild, and Certificate of Merit." - Kristen Walton
"Thank you, Kay, for being my teacher of piano, music, and the greater aesthetic of art for the past 10 years. I attribute my musical accomplishments to the foundation of knowledge you gave me." - Max V., now pursuing an MM in Music Composition at Yale and a PhD in Music Composition at Princeton
Meet the Rest of the La Jolla / UTC Team
Kay anchors the advanced and audition-track side of our La Jolla and UTC studio, and also teaches motivated, serious beginner and intermediate students herself. She's not the only teacher here, though. Victor teaches contemporary piano and works well with students who want a more casual, exploratory approach. Kyle mainly teaches beginners, giving younger or brand-new students a gentle, encouraging start. Between the three of them, sdpa covers every level in this community, from a first lesson to conservatory preparation.
Where Lessons Happen
Kay teaches from her private studio in UTC, a dedicated space built around decades of serious piano instruction. Victor also teaches from his home studio in UTC, and also travels to students' homes. Kyle teaches from his home studio in North Clairemont, just outside UTC, a short drive for UTC families. All three also offer virtual lessons.
Why Choose sdpa
Taught by world-class international concert pianists and artists at the top of their field, not part time hobbyists.
A flawless foundation from the first lesson, built so progress compounds instead of stalls.
A year round performance calendar, recitals, workshops, and a professional artist series, all included.
An earned credential, the Certificate of Artistic Achievement, that belongs on a college application.
Documented results: competition winners and students admitted to top conservatories.
Lessons in your home or teacher's studios, across all of San Diego County, all ages and levels welcome.
A comprehensive curriculum, technique, theory, ear training, and sight reading, not just repertoire.
A library of video courses and online training that helps students progress even faster between lessons.
The Honors Program, our highest designation, for students who rise to it.
Recording services, so every milestone is captured, not just remembered.
Faculty who are active members of MTAC, MTNA, and CAPMT, the country's leading professional associations for music teachers.
Faculty qualified to prepare students for outside testing: Certificate of Merit, ABRSM, and RCM.
Life skills that outlast the music: discipline, accountability, and real practice habits, taught by mentors, not just instructors.
Personalized placement, every student matched with the teacher whose strengths fit their specific goals, not just whoever has an open slot.
What a Full Academy Offers That a Single Teacher Can't
What a single teacher can't offer is the rest of what sdpa builds around every student: a full recital calendar where your student performs alongside dozens of other serious, motivated pianists, a peer effect that pushes students further than practicing in isolation, a concert artist series featuring our own faculty performing regularly, masterclasses, practicing and performance workshops, adult student workshops, and guest artists visiting from institutions like the Cleveland Institute of Music. Our faculty includes some of the most accomplished pianists in San Diego, arguably the best in the city. sdpa combines that individual talent with the compounding effect of a full institution built around your student's growth, not just one great teacher working alone.