At-a-Glance

My studio at CMC enrolls 20+ enthusiastic learners of all ages and levels. I offer lessons year-round, with most students enrolling on a nine-month academic calendar (September to May) supplemented by additional summer study. Students receive 1:1 private lessons on a regular weekly or bi-weekly cadence, periodic enrichment activities (studio class, group projects, practice coaching, parent conferences), and at least two recital opportunities.

Some of my young students opt for a Suzuki experience - in addition to private lessons with me, they enroll in the group class program offered by my wonderful colleague Lisa Lederer (Cambridge Suzuki Violins). Others are active participants in school music programs (Boston Latin School, Cambridge Rindge & Latin), youth orchestras (Rivers School Conservatory, NEC Prep), community orchestras (Parkway Community Orchestra), and/or summer festivals (Apple Hill, BYSO).

Core Values

1. Violin teaches us how to pay attention. Paying attention is an act of love.

In the words of Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird (2017): “Don’t you think they are the same thing? Love and attention?” and Shinichi Suzuki: “Beautiful tone, beautiful heart.”

Learning an instrument is one of the most powerful ways to teach ourselves how to pay attention to the world around us. It takes time, and it rewards habits of noticing: listening carefully, observing, feeling. To my youngest students, I call these abilities “violin superpowers” and I like to point them out as they develop: the ability to focus through a lesson, to stand calmly while handling a delicate instrument, to stick with a puzzle long enough to find its solution. With my older students, I like to celebrate the compounding effect of all those years of attention (and love): the ability to make a beautiful sound, a performance that moves an audience member, a piece of music that accompanies us through good times and bad.

2. Violin builds our inner life. - I view musical craft as an opportunity to build an inner life that is curious and full of wonder. Learning an instrument gives us time and space to build meaning of our own (ex. learning to create a unique tone) and to experience profound emotion (ex. learning to appreciate, interpret, and share major works of art).

3. “Success” is Defined Individually - I believe that a healthy studio can accommodate a wide-range of musical paths. Some of my students practice for several hours daily and end up reaching a very high level of aptitude on the violin. Others come to the instrument for the first time as adults with limited free time, and are looking for a welcoming space in which to be a beginner. I ask my students to share their goals with me so that we can draft - and continually re-draft - a learning plan that feels both realistic and exciting. I work with all of my students to establish shared expectations - a 5yo student might practice for 15min daily while a 16yo might manage upwards of 2hrs; a working adult might only be able to manage 20min, five days per week. As long as we’re all on the same page, each one of those paths can lead to a “successful” and deeply enriching learning experience. In other words… If we keep checking-in about which path feels right, then I will be more than happy to serve as your guide!

Curriculum

Students in my studio progress through material such as:
- the Suzuki Violin School
- Shirley Givens, Adventures in Violinland
- Elise Winters, Kaleidoscopes
- core studies by Wohlfahrt, Whistler, Trott, Kreutzer
- scale methods by Barbara Barber and Carl Flesch
- student concerti by Seitz, Küchler, Rieding, Viotti, Accolay, Kabalevsky
- standard concert repertoire by Mozart, Bach, Bruch, Kreisler, and beyond
- requests drawn from popular, video game, and film music

I aim to build musicianship skills (literacy, singing, rhythm, harmonic awareness) at all stages of the learning process, and I support participation in ensemble programs by reserving lesson time for coaching on orchestra and chamber music assignments.