Sharing my passion
My Story
I'm a Juilliard graduate with a BM in violin performance, (teaching fellow of Dorothy DeLay) a Master of Music in Chamber Music from SUNY Binghamton, former first violinist of the Amici Quartet, first violinist with the Indianapolis Symphony, Assistant Principal Viola of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Music Director of Madeline Music, with numerous solo, chamber ensemble and orchestral experience in the United States and Europe. I have first-hand knowledge of what it takes to study and perform the violin and viola at the highest level. As a teacher I have taught master classes and given clinics at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, UNI in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the University of Minnesota in Fargo-Moorehead, and elsewhere. My students have gone on to study at Juilliard, The Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Brown and Harvard. Even if they don't go on to become music professionals, they learn the invaluable skills of listening to and enjoying music for the rest of their lives. My purpose is to provide violin and viola students a correct technical foundation that will enable them to play freely and comfortably in order to experience the true joy of expressing themselves through music.
Sharing my Passion
My passion is to help guide students through the rigorous and exhilarating learning process that leads not only to fluency on the violin and/or viola, but to self-knowledge, creativity, critical thinking, organization, accountability, and personal maturity. My aim is to show students that with right practice comes proficiency and joy: Work transforms into Play!
My methods work best with students with some training, Suzuki or other. Though I love working with students who have correct foundations, I also enjoy the challenge of helping motivated students improve imbalanced or faulty technique. I also look forward to preparing advanced players for orchestral auditions and students for pre-college applications. Presently I am sorry to say I am not accepting beginners.
Why Study Music?
Why Study Music? Why Eat? Breathe? Sleep? Music makes us alive to the world, alive to ourselves and others. Playing a stringed instrument like the violin or viola is to amplify the sonority of your soul, so that you may more richly join in the chorus of life!
Lesson components
Every student is a unique individual, so I assess my teaching approach based on his/her personality, temperament, physical structure and musical intention and aptitude. I invest time and attention to discovering the student's ideal way of learning, and apply the foundational literature of technique toward his/her development: scales, arpeggios, and specific left-hand and bow exercises
Etudes by Sevcik, Kreutzer, Dont, Rode, Gavinies, Paganini
Repertoire including Baroque masters (J.S. Bach, Tartini, Handel, etc) Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Dvorak, Brahms, Tschaikovsky, Sibelius, etc
