Regina's professional career as a solo pianist and harpsichordist, and
as accompanist to numerous solo performers (on flute, guitar, stringed
instruments) and in duo-piano and piano-four-hand recitals, has included
performances at San Jose's "Tapestry in Talent" programs, concerto performances
with the West Valley Symphony and University of Santa Clara orchestra, countless solo recitals, and notably, the
well-known "Music of the Spheres" concerts at Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton,
often in collaboration with Hugh Downs' brother, the flutist
J. Wallace Downs.
The concert series, given in the dome of the historic century-old 36-inch
refractor telescope on Mt. Hamilton, was conceived and established by
Regina's friend W. Shiloh Unruh, with Regina as Musical Director. For eight
years, Regina brought instruments up the narrow, winding road to the Observatory
(with its 345 hairpin turns!) to play the harpsichord and digital piano
in the rich acoustics of the wooden dome, under the gigantic telescope. Her
beautiful performances were then followed by unforgettable observations of
the planets and celestial objects, and were a remarkable contribution to the
appreciation of classical music as well as astronomical observing, deeply
acclaimed by the staff of the Observatory and the public alike. Some of
the programs were later broadcast on KKHI and KBOQ radio, in conjunction with her husband,
Stephen Waldee. You may see more relevant pictures and hear a sample from one of the concerts, on our page
of sound files, Regina Performs.
Regina Performs Under the Dome of the 36-Inch Refractor on
Mt. Hamilton
Regina tunes her harpsichord in the dome of Lick Observatory before a concert.
A specialist in the literature of the Baroque period, Regina has always enjoyed performing music
of Bach, Scarlatti, Rameau, Handel, and the other greats of the pre-classical era, such as in an unusual
"Harpsichord Spectacular" concert in 1981, with her colleagues Jo Dodson, Mary Alice Borer, and Florence
Oeschger, believed to be the first time that multiple harpsichord concertos and pieces for four such
instruments were played in the Santa Clara valley.
Regina has also had the honor to have performed the music of renowned
contemporary American composers Vincent Persichetti and Norman Dello Joio, for the
composers in masterclass, as well as working with the distinguished French pianist
Jean-Phillippe Collard. Here, below, she is shown in a 1973 Flint, Michigan
newspaper article about Persichetti instructing young musicians in a piano workshop on the
intricacies of his work, "Parades".
In spite Regina Roper's love of performance, teaching is an even stronger
passion. Over the past 15 years, the Roper piano studio has developed
into one of the leading and most innovative private studios in the
Santa Clara valley. Regina is a dynamic motivational speaker who has
often been engaged as an adjudicator and clinician on various topics
related to piano pedagogy. She is regarded by her colleagues as one
of the outstanding experts in the application of MIDI technology
and multimedia computer software in the field of music education in the private
piano instruction studio.
One of our Roper Piano Studio Computer Labs, Featuring Multimedia CD-ROM Educational Software
Regina has been extremely active in the professional field of
piano education, working with such groups as Certificate of Merit (CM), Piano Guild,
the Suzuki Association of America (SAA), and the Music Teachers' Association (MTA), of
which she is presently a member of the Los Altos branch of the Music Teachers' Association
of California, and is past-president of the Santa Clara County branch of MTAC, where she
presided over the annual Holiday Luncheon, in December of 1991, shown above.
Regina often utilizes the time offered by regular school holidays to schedule studio breaks,
in order to travel across the state of California and the USA to attend important musical events,
conventions, and seminars. The photos below, taken by Regina at the 1996 Van Cliburn International
Piano Competition in Texas, record her cherished memories of meeting the great Cliburn as well as
other internationally-known musicians and educators, such as the distinguished American concert
pianist John Browning.
The audience greets Van Cliburn.
Above and left: Van Cliburn, John Browning, and Browning's devoted little companion Tyler. Right: Regina
with John Browning, the distinguished American piano virtuoso.
As part of her commitment to service of local Northern California music
associations, Regina has been active in preparation of the newsletters and other
publications of her organizations, enthusiastically devoting herself to the desk-top
publishing, printing, and layout of newsletters and programs. She directed her husband,
Steve Waldee, and computer consultant Ronald Wood, in the production of unique
scheduling software programs to automate the task of scheduling no fewer than 1,500 students
in the San Jose adjudication of the Certificate of Merit program, a daunting task that hitherto
had required enormous manual effort of "cutting and pasting" with countless lists and slips of paper!
A Student Enjoys His Computer Lab Lesson Assignment.
Regina's experience in the Silicon Valley computer industry, the west-coast hub of activity in
the cybernetics field, has paid off handsomely, since it has not only supplied her with the
interest in and enthusiasm for computers and software to enhance the structure of her business
activities, but also has enhanced her teaching: she has one of the most complete collections of
WindowsTM-based multimedia music and arts software in Northern California, and is
constantly searching for the best of new productions, often serving as a beta-tester for
such companies as Ibis, and publishing articles about technology
in the music studio, or using computerized music labs to assist in the
teaching of piano music and performance.
As an active member of MTAC, Regina has been proud to have many of her students accepted for
performance at Conventions and honors recitals. Above, she joins a number of her students who played at the
San Francisco MTAC Convention in 1997 and who proudly display their ribbons and prizes.
The Roper Piano Studio, like most other professional piano instructors, offers annual and semi-annual student recitals,
both at the Studio, and at a concert venue (often, utilizing one of the churches in the immediate area that boast both
fine instruments and good acoustics, important to demonstrate the qualities of students' playing.)
It is crucial to reward the reliable attendance, diligent practice, and commitment of the piano student, with
the attention of their fellow students and families at the annual Recital, and to present tokens of achievement that
indicate progress with each year of patient effort.
Our Roper Studio ribbon, small prizes, and even occasional "party gifts" at theory classes or "music camps", as well as
complimentary music CDs of fine classical pieces, are all examples of ways the instructor builds up the confidence and sense
of success and pride in the student.
The Office Assistant, Helping with a Lesson Plan
One of the little "human touches" that Regina enjoys bestowing on her teaching is sharing her enthusiasm for
animals, particularly with her young students. Regina is an avid pet owner, usually enjoying the companionship of cats; in the year 2000 she has at last had the long- desired opportunity to rescue a homeless dog, "Kobe, adopted from the (now defunct) K9 Haven Organization.
In 1997, Regina learned of the need for foster-home care of new-born cats to assist the Humane Society in its
laudable endeavors to reduce the needless euthanizing of unwanted animals, and by that summer she had
become an eager volunteer, contributing countless hours each week to the Foster Care program. Newly born cats,
only a few weeks old, just past weaning and not yet neutered, are available for responsible adult caregivers, to insure their
acclimatization to humans and early housetraining. The reward of knowing that many animal lives are saved, and that
deserving families have well-adjusted pets for adoption far offsets the time and effort, and Regina and her
husband gladly shared many of the responsibilities, if only to delight in the antics of these cuddly creatures.
Weigh basket, then divide by 3...
A tisket, a tasket...Office Mates Exploring
A few of the little ones, two of which
we adopted: Bandit and Leena
Anyone for the Bach "Concerto for Four Harpsikitties"?
Regina was presented with this Certificate by the Humane Society in 1997.
As Regina has written, "Give me a student with a willing attitude and an encouraging parent, and
I will delight in molding them into a well-rounded musician; one who will have the skills and
knowledge to pursue a lifetime of musical pleasures!"
As her husband, I have taken great pride and pleasure in collaborating with Regina in her teaching activities, and in producing this Roper Piano Studio Photo Album, recording a life dedicated to the piano. I hope it has brought you as much pleasure as it provided me and my Editorial Assistant!
End of another long day of teaching...
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In 1981 she returned to postgraduate
studies at San Jose State University, accepting a graduate assistantship position as
a staff accompanist, and undertaking harpsichord studies with Fernando Valenti (at right), with whom
she had first worked in Mallorca (the island where the fatally-ill Chopin
summered with his companion, the novelist George Sand.)
Regina was among a select group of students of this esteemed Spanish-born
virtuoso -- one of the world's greatest harpsichordists and a baroque
music specialist -- who were privileged to spend a sun-drenched summer studying
with him on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, where at one of
her performances the Queen of Spain had been in attendance.
