Past Performances

Seba is one of the most passionate teachers I have had. From her it is not only the piano skills I learned, but also how to be a good person. She would go out of her way to help her students, like when she took out extra time for me if I ever needed any, even when herself is living on an extremely busy schedule. Seba is absolutely a supreme performer, but she is also undoubtedly a supreme teacher. With her everything is so easy; she is really good at exploring people’s potential. With her I always felt like that I could go further and further. She knows the materials, and she knows what fits the student the best.
Seba is also a great mentor. She is willing to go beyond her duties as teacher and be there for you when you have to face negativity in your life, no matter what kind, and make you feel better. I am lucky to have Seba as a teacher, because she truly has such a good heart and caring personality.ZHENLING ZHANGStony Brook University. Bachelor in Music - Piano Performance

It was a tough decision on choosing a piano teacher for my 4 year old daughter (Elaine) to start. Friend of mine introduced Seba Ali to me. During past four months, I found Seba is not only professional in Music, she is also the protagonist for young child to study from. Elaine loves Seba's teaching style and within 4 months her progress on playing piano amazed people around us. Seba has great patience and understanding for my daughter and also well prepared for each class. As a piano teacher, she earned my respect with her teaching philosophy on reaching out maximum potential from her students. I would highly recommend Seba to anyone I know because she is the best!Elaine’s Mother

I have had the privilege of working with Seba during my undergrad years at Stony Brook University. One of the most memorable moments I have had was when Seba and I performed a four-hand piece for the end of the year concert during Christmas season. I remember sharing voluminous laughters with her during the practices. She is not only a wonderful piano instructor, but also a kind-hearted, open-minded human being with an infectious bubbly personality. Seba's sincere love for music and her students is demonstrated through her teaching. She often uses descriptive imagery to portray a certain character of a piece so that the students are able to understand and expand their creativity and artistry along with technicality. Mrs. Ali is a brilliant piano teacher, mentor, and friend who is near and dear to my heart.JINJU HONGStony Brook University. Bachelor in Music - Piano Performance

I am a Phd student in computer science department at Stony Brook. I fell in love with piano quite late, a year back when I came across the Japanese pianist Joe Hisaishi. I wanted to learn piano but I had never played the instrument before and had to start off as a beginner. I was looking for a piano instructor, and through the music school at Stony Brook came to know about Seba. I found Seba, had an amazing love for her craft and she thoroughly enjoyed teaching. Her great quality as an instructor is she is very patient and at the same time quite creative in helping her students out. In my case, there were a few things I found difficult to learn. She suggested interesting techniques to help me out, while at the same time instilling the value of practise and patience in learning piano. She is also very well organized, ensuring that each session serves a purpose for the student. Her sessions were usually accompanied with interesting readings. She was always available if I needed extra time for practise sessions. She organized regular recitals for her students, and the recitals were a fun experience. Overall, my experience was of great learning and fun.ZAFAR QAZIStony Brook Univeristy - PHD in Computer Science

Seba is a passionate and loving teacher. Over the past 2 1/2 years, my daughters, Rubaiya and Afia, made great advances in their music. My older daughter wanted to start piano the summer before middle school. Seba was patient with her and I saw that within 5 months, Rubaiya had made incredible progress. My younger daughter, Afia, started off with little musical knowledge. Now she amazes me each time her fingers strike the keys. Seba always goes through music from diverse cultures and lets her pupil choose what is best for them. With her personality and knowledge, Seba made music fascinating for my daughters. She always takes the extra time to help create a better understanding, even though she runs on a tight schedule. Seba is a wonderful person. I would recommend her to anyone with an interest in music.Rubaiya and Afia' Mother

Seba gives me the support and encouragement to better myself as a pianist and as a person.JEAN-PIERRE DOMINGUEZStony Brook University. Minor in Music - Piano Performance

Seba Ali is an immensely talented pianist and musician who happens to possess a natural gift for teaching. She has managed to impart her enthusiasm for music to my daughter and son. I was always impressed by her knowledge of piano repertoires, her high standards of performance, her insightful observations on the music and her many practical suggestions for tackling those extremely annoying, technically challenging passages. Best of all, she maintains a very high expectation of excellence while balancing the relationship with the student in a very caring and concerned way. It is a privilege to have her as my kids' teacher.Amy and Alex' Mother

Seba is a great piano teacher for young kids. I can feel that she brings her heartful passion for the piano to my son during the instruction . She is not only teaching my son how to play piano in the right posture and fingering , she also constantly explains how the music piece was created so my son can have the closer feeling that the composer tried to express. She is using every minute efficiently during the class to make sure that my son can learn more and play more. What is nice about her not only stays in the class, she does a lot after the class. She responses our questions fast. She picks videos of some very best piano performance for the student to watch at home. With thoughtful and detailed plans, as well as neat preparation together with the students in advance, she holds the concert twice a year in the beautiful piano exhibition hall for all her students to celebrate the music achievement together. We all love her and her teaching very much !Zekey's Mother

Seba helped me a tremendous amount through her lessons. She is pointed out many bad habits that I had and helped me work through them patiently. But I also learned through Seba how to better express myself through music and how to show people exactly what I want to show them. Seba is a wonderful teacher!KEVIN KRAJEWSKIStony Brook University. Minor in Music - Piano Performance