Creativity isn’t just a nice-to-have for our students, it might be the very thing that eases their anxiety and helps them build a lifetime love of music. Today, I’m chatting with one of my favourite return guests, Leila Viss, who’s back to talk about the link between creativity and anxiety, her book Found in the Wake, and the four principles she uses to get even the most hesitant improviser playing beyond the page. We also dig into her composiums for teachers and what’s really changed for piano teachers in the ten years since we first talked creativity together.
Leila Viss creates imaginative, tech-savvy resources for her in-person and online piano studio and website. She founded Space to Create where she empowers pianists and teachers to connect with their creativity through improvisation, composition, and arranging. A longtime church musician and dynamic speaker, she co-authored Found in the Wake, a memoir of loss and resilience. Leila is Colorado’s 2024 MTNA Foundation Fellow and a 2025 Frances Clark Center Outstanding Service Recognition Award recipient.
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