Jan Janovsky — Pianist, Educator, Instigator of Musical Curiosity
Mix one part concert pianist, one part jazz musician, and one part slightly sleep-deprived cruise ship entertainer… and you get Jan Janovsky.
(Which, yes, sounds like a strange recipe—but somehow it works.)
For over a decade, Jan performed, directed, and headlined on some of the world’s major cruise lines, including Holland America, Celebrity, Oceania, and Princess. Night after night, in front of audiences from all walks of life, he learned something most musicians don’t get taught in school: how to connect. How to read a room. And how to make music feel alive—not just impressive.
Because let’s be honest… nobody leaves a concert saying, “Wow, those scales were very accurate.”
They leave remembering how it felt.
Jan brings that same philosophy into his teaching and performances today.
With advanced training spanning classical and jazz—holding a Master’s in Jazz Studies from the University of Arkansas, a diploma from Humber College, and a performance degree with distinction from the University of Saskatchewan—his background is deep. But what matters more is how he uses it: helping students and audiences experience music as something personal, expressive, and transformative.
Over the past 30+ years, his students have gone on to institutions such as Juilliard, McGill, the University of Toronto, and more. They’ve won festivals, earned national recognition, and—more importantly—grown into confident, expressive musicians. One student was even featured on CBC as one of Alberta’s first blind pianists to complete the Grade 8 RCM exam.
Which is the kind of thing that makes you stop and go…
“Okay… music lessons might actually matter more than I thought.”
As the owner of Classic Studios Music Academy in Sherwood Park, Jan has built a program focused not just on playing notes, but on developing people. His approach blends creativity, structure, and a healthy dose of humor—because progress tends to happen faster when students actually enjoy showing up.
(And when practice feels slightly less like a hostage situation.)
Jan is also an active adjudicator at Canadian music festivals and a featured presenter at the Alberta Music Teachers’ Conference, where he explores the evolving role of technology and AI in music education.
His latest album, “Hey, Knuckles.”, showcases his signature blend of musicality and personality—where high-level artistry meets a wink and a grin.
