Jyoti Hench is a pianist, teacher, and educational composer. She truly loves creating music that encourages technical development, musical imagination, and creative storytelling in young pianists. She believes that pianists at every level deserve variety and depth in the sounds they create at the piano. Her compositions are published by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company.

Jyoti began her own piano study during the summer before her kindergarten year. She eventually earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of California at Santa Cruz, a Master of Music degree in piano performance from Sacramento State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance and pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma. Her doctoral research involved performance psychology for elementary school age pianists.

Dr. Hench enjoys sharing teaching ideas and strategies with other educators, and has presented at numerous national and state music teacher conferences. Notable presentations include Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), California Association of Professional Music Teachers (CAPMT), Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC), and College Music Society. Dr. Hench is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (NCTM).

In addition to composing, Dr. Hench’s other favorite musical activities include judging piano and composition competitions, teaching preschool classroom music, and serving in church music ministry. Outside of music, she enjoys traveling, camping, and writing. She lives in Northern California with her husband, two children, and two dogs.