Christina Puhacz
Artistic Director and Founder
I am Christina Puhacz, the founder of Leading Note Music and a RCM certified piano teacher with 20 years of teaching experience, who returned to piano teaching in 2009. I left a 20 plus years career in the business world in late 2006 in order to explore other interests, including some that were entrepreneurial. Prior to acquiring my engineering degree at the University of Waterloo (B. A. Sc. in Systems Design Engineering 1987) I was a piano teacher with many students and, during the course of my engineer
In 2010, I successfully competed in RCM's own music festival winning a bronze. My musical journey has been a continuous one throughout my life. Notably, I studied with Dr. Michael Esch , a former collaborator with the Canadian Sinfonietta Chamber Players. Recently, he has been awarded the Steinway Top Teacher Award. Occasionally, I write music and from time-to-time, some of my pieces have been played by my piano students and heard by the attendees at my piano recitals and salons.
My interest in music seems to have always been there. I can’t pinpoint one particular event that turned me on to music but I do know that I have always been surrounded by family members with a strong interest in music whether it be vocal singing or other instruments like the piano. Music has brought nothing but positive things to my life. The most positive of these has been the wonderful students and families I have crossed paths with while teaching piano lessons.
Important Announcement: During the past 4 months, revelations have come to light regarding sexual abuse by renowned educator and composer Boris Berlin that occurred during his lengthy teaching career at the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM). Since I learned of this, I have become increasingly appalled by the the fact that I am a Royal Conservatory of Music certified teacher for an institution that allowed sexual abuse to go on and that this institution seems to have done very little about it since it was first reported over 30 years ago. On May 1, 2026, after intense public pressure, the RCM finally issued a statement that they would launch a 3rd party independent investigation of the historical sexual abuse allegations, but only after they have completed an internal review. No specific timeline has been given for the completion of any of this. As a teacher of predominantly young children, I can’t in good conscience continue as an RCM certified teacher at this time. To this end, I have removed the symbol showing my RCM teacher certification designation from this website and have also begun to take steps to move to the Conservatory Canada curriculum for my students too. Initially, this will mean a lot of extra work on my part as sometimes doing the right thing is not easy. I am following in the steps of Jonathan Biss, a renowned concert pianist, who has resigned from the RCM over this issue. I had the pleasure of hearing him perform a Beethoven Concerto at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra a number of years ago and it is heartening to me that someone with such huge talent is using his fame to bring more light to this serious issue. You can read his words here https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CKqirbgYE/ and sign the petition calling for the RCM to conduct a third party investigation here https://www.change.org/p/demand-the-rcm-toronto-conduct-an-independent-investigation-into-sexual-abuse. I think it is still worth signing this petition because it will keep the pressure on the RCM to complete the third party investigation in a timely manner. Furthermore, I would also like to see our government strip Boris Berlin of his Order of Canada designation as he is not among the best of us.