A Belarusian Pianist Moved To Poland And, Within Two Weeks, Had Filled Her Class With Students
- 23.09.2026, 13:06
Many of them sit down at the piano for the first time when they are in their 30s or 40s.
For some, it’s a childhood dream come true, while for others, the idea to give it a try comes in adulthood. Daria is a professional pianist from Belarus who now teaches in Poland. In this country, she had to start from scratch to find clients, learn how to advertise, and organize concerts for her students. She told MOST about her bold and modest pricing, her personalized approach, and a student who lasted only two lessons.
Most of Daria’s adult students start from scratch. They’re usually between 25 and 40 years old.
“Some had always dreamed of learning to play the piano. Others attended music school but dropped out. Some weren’t allowed by their mothers, even though they wanted to.” And now, when they hear a piano or see one, they think: I want to play, too.
Daria also teaches children—starting around age four and a half. Her students include Belarusians, Ukrainians, Russians, and Kazakhs. Lessons are conducted in Russian.
“This child taught me how to work with children”
Daria began working with children in Belarus. When talking about her early years of teaching, she uses the harsh phrase “broken children who hate both me and music.” That’s how she recalls the students with whom her usual academic approach didn’t work.
One of Daria’s first students would get tired quickly. And the young teacher taught her the way she was used to: notes, rhythm, right hand, left hand, repeated exercises. It didn’t work.
“I realized that my understanding of a piano lesson was completely unsuitable for this child.”
So Daria added games, dancing, clapping, creative activities, and other instruments, and began looking for new textbooks and teaching methods.
“It was this very child who taught me how to work with children.”
There was also the opposite case. In Belarus, Daria taught a four-and-a-half-year-old girl who could easily sit through a full one-hour lesson—with sheet music and assignments that were quite challenging for her age. Usually, the teacher says, 30–45 minutes is enough for such young children.
After moving, Daria continued to follow the girl’s progress on Instagram.
“You Can’t Teach Me Anything”
But one adult student in Kraków lasted only two lessons. At first, the man asked Daria detailed questions about theory. To some questions, she honestly admitted that she didn’t know the answer. Daria got the feeling that he had come more to test the teacher than to learn to play.
“After the second lesson, the man declared, ‘You can’t teach me anything,’ and walked out. I was honestly shocked,” Daria recalls, noting that this was the first time such a thing had happened in all her years of teaching.
Twice She Wanted to Quit Music School
Daria started playing when she was seven. But during her eight years at music school, she wanted to quit twice. Her mom didn’t try to talk her out of it:
— She said, “Dasha, if you don’t want to study, quit.”
But she decided to continue.
— When I was given that choice, I decided: no, I’ll see it through to the end.
Later, Daria won a competition and decided to continue her studies: she graduated from the piano department of the Minsk State Music College named after Mikhail Glinka, and then from the Belarusian State Academy of Music.
— Music was my life. All my friends were musicians. I worked in music, earned a living, composed, and performed.
Daria has been playing the piano for about 28 years, roughly ten of which she has spent primarily teaching. She used to perform more often and work as an accompanist.
In Wrocław—a full class in two weeks
Daria’s family moved to Poland in 2022. That’s when the question arose: what to do with the instrument? Daria sold her grand acoustic piano. In Poland, she began using a digital piano as well—it’s easy to transport.
At first, the family settled in Wrocław. Daria rented a studio and posted advertisements.
“In two weeks, I had filled my class to capacity—as many students as I could teach.”
According to her estimates, about 95% of people stayed on after the trial lesson. Daria attributes this demand, in part, to the fact that many Russian-speaking families had moved to Poland at that time.
No one responded in Kraków
A year later, the family moved to Kraków. But she was unable to replicate her success in her new location. Her first ad didn’t bring in a single student.
Daria then continued promoting her classes on Telegram, Facebook, and Instagram. Her marketing knowledge—which she’d begun to explore back in Minsk, where she’d taken short courses on advertising and promotion—came in handy.
“It’s not enough to just be a good teacher; you have to know how to market yourself. It’s a business—essentially, a service—that you have to sell,” she explains.
Daria calls her Instagram account a teacher’s calling card. There, she shares clips of lessons, performances, and her students’ achievements. She organizes their recitals. Thanks to these events, someone who first sat down at a piano as an adult can take the stage and play in front of an audience.
Word of mouth gradually took hold. Now, Daria says, new students reach out even without advertising.
For now, she teaches in Russian, but in the future she wants to pursue an education in Poland and try working in a Polish setting.
From 50 to 200 zlotys per lesson. But when she got sick, she didn’t earn anything
According to Daria’s observations, a private piano lesson in Poland can cost anywhere from 50 to 200 zlotys. The price depends on the city, the teacher’s experience, rent, taxes—and on how the teacher values their own work.
— Some are bolder, others more timid when it comes to pricing. And sometimes the ones who are timid when it comes to pricing are precisely the people who should value themselves the most.
Daria has met teachers without formal piano training who charged more per lesson than highly skilled professional pianists.
She believes it’s possible to make a living in Poland solely from private lessons. But she herself wouldn’t want to depend solely on them in the future. Right now, she explains, her income drops if a student cancels a lesson and doesn’t pay, or if she herself gets sick or goes on vacation.
“You’re entirely responsible for your income, your vacation time, your rent, and the number of students you have. You can’t get sick: no one pays you.
That’s why Daria is also considering other ways to earn money: performances, her own products, and additional sources of income.