Noreen Wenjen began her musical training in piano at the age of six in Long Beach, California.  Her teachers include Joanna Hodges, Nancy Rohr, Peter Yazbeck, Dr. Stewart Gordon, and Jim McCormick.  Noreen began her piano studies with Nancy Rohr in the Joanna Hodges Piano Studio in Long Beach, California.  She continued her instruction with Joanna Hodges from 1981 to 1986, Peter Yazbeck from 1986 to 1991, and studied performance and pedagogy with Ms. Hodges in Vancouver, Washington from 1994 to 1997.  Noreen presently coaches with Dr. Stewart Gordon and Jim McCormick in Los Angeles.

Noreen has received many honors from the Joanna Hodges International Piano Competition, including first place in the Krenék Competition, second place awards in the Chopin Competitions, Schubert Competitions, and Master Class divisions, and honorable mentions in the Concerto and Schumann Competitions.  Noreen has been a finalist twice in the Southern California Bach Festival, representing Long Beach in the regional competition.  She has also received awards at the Southwestern Youth Music Festival in Open Solo and Junior Amateur Champion categories for several years.

From the National Guild of Piano Teachers, Noreen received top scores while earning thirteen International and National Certificates.  In June of 1995 she received the distinguished Artist Diploma from the American College of Musicians, presenting a twenty-seven-piece program.  She has also received the Senior Collegiate Diploma, High School Diploma, the American College of Musicians Scholarship, and the Paderewski Medal.  Other events in which she was recognized include the Fullerton State Music Festival, the Cypress College Music Competition, and the Long Beach Women’s Club Piano Competition.

Noreen completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance under the direction of Peter Yazbeck at the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1991.  She has performed in numerous piano, voice, piano ensemble, and chamber music recitals.  Noreen’s academic honors include Dean’s List, Who’s Who Among American College Students, Outstanding College Students of America, Order of Omega Honor Society, and Alpha Scholarship Society.

Noreen was selected to attend the Joanna Hodges Summer Piano Seminar from 1994 to 1996 where she performed in master classes and recitals and served as the Seminar Manager in 1995 and 1996.  In 1994, Noreen performed in two solo recitals and a lecture-recital with Salvador Brotons, Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony in which she performed the Schumann Concerto.  In January 1995, she performed an opening recital for the East Clark Community Concert Association at the Garfield Performing Arts Center.  In February 1995, she also performed in a workshop on twentieth century music presented by composer and pianist B.J. Rosco.  Other northwest performances include a solo recital for the performing arts series at Fairway Village in April and pianist for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in May of 1996.  She was also selected as a finalist for the Seattle Debut Tour Competition in June of 1996.

Noreen spent several years teaching at the Joanna Hodges Piano Studio in Vancouver, Washington where she maintained a busy schedule teaching thirty students and five levels of theory classes.  Her students have received honors for their performances and compositions.   Noreen received the Honor Achievement Award in 1995 and 1996 for her musical endeavors.  Noreen is a National Honor Roll member of the National Guild of Piano Teachers, a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (N.C.T.M.) in the Music Teachers’ National Association, and is a certified piano teacher in California.  She previously served as Secretary of the Clark County Music Teachers’ Association and was the co-chairman of the Clark County Music Teachers’ Association’s Junior Bach Festival in 1996 and 1997, which she developed and organized with Joanna Hodges in 1996.

Currently, Noreen is a member of the Long Beach and the South Bay branches of the Music Teachers’ Association of California (MTAC.)  She served as the Sonata/Sonatina Competition Chairman for the Long Beach Branch from 1998-1999; co-chairman of the Certificate of Merit program in 2000-2001; 1st Vice President, maintained the branch website, and compiled the directory in 2002-2003; and will serve as 1st Vice President again this year.

Noreen is also on the board of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers, District III, and has been chair of the Piano Auditions and Ensemble Auditions, District III, for the past three years.  Noreen is also active in the L.A. Pacesetters group that meets monthly to discuss teaching techniques.  She performed in a Robert Pace Master Class in  May 2001.  Noreen performed in a Jim McCormick Master Class in October 2001. She also received the honor of being listed in the 1998-1999 and 2000-2001 editions of Who’s Who Among American Women.

Noreen has completed her first volume of a unique teaching method in her Musical Journeys™ piano series.  Noreen has a keen interest in the importance of learning music and its long-term benefits for young children.  The need for new and innovative teaching material for young children initiated this series.  Partnering with her sister, Mia Wenjen-Lee, entrepreneur and management consultant, they have developed a new method of teaching piano for very young children. This series introduces solid, classical piano training while capturing the interests of children today. The method centers around two cartoon characters that narrate and anchor the series. The book series fills the need for a piano method for children ages four and above that not only is fun for the students, but also prepares them to learn the works of classical composers.  She is presently settling on a publisher and hopes that her book will be available in music stores by next year.

Noreen relocated back to California in September of 1997, and currently maintains Wenjen Piano Studios  in Seal Beach and Redondo Beach, teaching over forty students privately.   Her students have received honors in various piano events and competitions.  She has adjudicated for the Southwestern Youth Music Festival, MTAC Certificate of Merit program, the MTAC winter festival in Santa Barbara, and the MTAC Long Beach Wheeler Scholarship.  Her studios are open to children of all ages and adults, and she specializes in teaching piano to children from the ages of three and above. She emphasizes the importance of teaching classical music to young children using fun, creative, and contemporary techniques, which strengthens the cognitive thinking skills used in language, math, and Scholastic Aptitude Tests for college entrance.

Noreen resides with her husband in Redondo Beach.