Our History

As Jeff Bezos, Amazon Cofounder once said, “BIG THINGS START SMALL”
The seed for what is now Larry-Boyd Academy | Piano was planted on Saturday, June 4th 2016. On that day, four learners; Jayden (7-years), Barima (8-years), Djom (10-years) and Cristabel (7-years) met, at the 4pm hour [CST], inside the main auditorium of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana-Houston, with one available church keyboard, to have their first Piano lesson with me (Uncle James). The stated goal at the time was “James, develop more keyboardists for this church, so that when you travel or unavailable, there will be someone to play the piano for the church”.

Unbeknownst to the learners at the time, or the parents who brought them there, I had no idea of how to proceed with the lesson. I had no curriculum, no instructional approach, or materials to run the lesson. So, by sheer try-and-error approach, we managed to finish the hour with all the learners knowing how to find “key C” [left of the two black keys], and “key F” [left of the three black keys] on the piano by name. Whew!
Three months into this experiment, the parents of the learners bought them Digital pianos, that they had to bring with them to each lesson, and take it back with them home to practice on. Imagine being the parent having to carry a digital piano, together with its stand, and wires to and from lessons each week! The struggle was real. This phase lasted for the rest of 2016.

Beginning in 2017, I funded the procurement of five Casio CDP 100 Digital pianos, with five Proline Piano Stands, adopted the Mayron Cole Piano Method© (a Group-Piano Curriculum), in its raw form, and named the program Larry-Boyd Academy. We also started another class, at the 5PM hour, giving us a total of 10-learners in two sections of Piano classes. We had our first public Recital in July 2017.
It was not long, from the onset, that running this program in multiple locations, became an idea for me to explore. However, initial attempts to achieve this goal did not materialize. I’d carry pianos and accessories back and forth across town to start operations at a new location, only for it to crumble within some few months.
Fortunately, the operations at the original location were progressing both qualitatively and quantitatively. I was mastering, adjusting, supplementing and refining the adopted curriculum, and had procured more digital pianos, and the results were showing up in the numbers; in terms of enrollment, retentions, the quality of play, and recitals. By 2019, we had two locations, reaching upwards of 30-learners each week, and scheduling multiple public Recitals per year. All the metrics pointed to a positive trajectory.

And then the Pandemic, known as COVID-19 swept the nations. And in April 2020, we had to shut down completely. This was the test that shook the core of this program, and my tenacity as the leader of the Academy. When we reopened (Under the strictest health guidelines at the time), over 90% of our learners did not return. You can’t blame them. Safety first.
But instead of seeing it as a defeat, the pandemic provided an OPPORTUNITY for a rebirth; a chance to start anew. A chance to let go of our then identified structural and systems inefficiencies, implement sound pedagogical approaches, using the Larry-Boyd Way©! Curriculum, and get our affairs in order. In fact, it was during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, in June 2020, that the North-Houston location of this Academy was started.
Today, Larry-Boyd Academy | Piano has three Houston area locations, and have touched the lives of hundreds of learners, and continue to touch the lives of many more each day. Last year, (2025), our learners played FIVE public Recitals, and many more have been scheduled for this new year (2026). We graduated our first student, the only original student that stayed through it all, Anthonio Djom Odonkor, on July 21st, 2024.

Along the way, we have had partnerships, sponsorships and collaborations from different organizations. We have also received immense and immeasurable assistance from many individuals. We appreciate them all.
We have learned and grew through the past decade. So, the next decade will take us to greater heights! I, hereby, on behalf of Larry-Boyd Academy | Piano, thank our members for entrusting us with their most precious assets; their children. We will continue to take care of them, instruct them, and serve them to the best of our abilities every day.
And to all the families in Greater Houston, if you are looking for a place where your child can thrive, succeed and learn, we invite you to join us. We are open for new, returning and transfer learners. Come experience the Larry-Boyd Way©, where we are Enhancing tomorrow’s generation – one piano lesson at a time.
Sincerely,
James Appiah. M.Ed
Lead Instructor & Facilitator
Larry-Boyd Academy | Piano