Violin with Maria R.

Maria R. is an active professional violist in the Great Falls, who is passionate about music education. With an undergraduate degree as well as a masters degree in viola performance, she has the experience and skill necessary to teach students of any level. Her many teaching experiences include teaching at the Merit School of Music in Chicago, working with students in the Chicago Youth Symphony, working as viola clinician at the Golden Strings Summer Music Camp, Viola Professor and Chamber Music Coordinator at Harper College, and most recently left K&S Conservatory of Music in her move to Great Falls. Throughout this wide range of teaching experiences, Maria has always been very involved in musical outreach programs. Through her work in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago's MusiCorps program, she has learned how to develop successful interactive performances for community engagement, and has seen first hand the impact music can make in the lives of people of any age. He is excited to share the love of music, passion for overcoming challenges, and sense of community that music can bring with all of her students. *** Lesson Details *** "I believe that finding out the goals of my students is the most important thing I can do. Similar to a personal trainer, who would use different approaches for clients who want to train for a marathon, or work on bulging biceps, a successful teacher is one who is able to teach students what they want to learn. I evaluate each student on an individual basis, and am able to then help learn the beginning basics, prepare for an audition, fix technique problems that may have resulted in physical injury, or work towards any other goal that they might have. I also believe that it is super important that the student be working on music that is exciting to them. While I do often use the Suzuki repertoire, I am also excited to work on more contemporary rep with my students. I am working with a 5th grader right now who was dying to play the Halleluja song from Shrek. So, I went home and whipped up a little version using the composition software on my computer. She is happy to practice, and learn lots of new things while working on a song that she enjoys. This is what learning should be! In addition to working on songs, I have an extensive gamut of technical exercises that I often turn into games during our warm-ups. I like letting the student lead the warm-ups and "play teacher" once they have got a handle on the skills. Its a great way to check for understanding, and give them a sense of accomplishment. I love teaching, and want you to love your lessons!" *** Studio Equipment *** The teaching space is in the dining room area, music stand, chairs, just a big open space *** Travel Equipment *** I will bring any new sheet music needed for the lesson, and my notebook to keep tack of lesson assignments. I expect that the students have a music stand (I can provide this at first) and their own notebook to keep track of what to practice for the week. *** Specialties *** I am a classically trained violist, so most of the repertoire I am most familiar with is of that genre. However, I have also had some experience in rock, blues, and experimental. I studied the Feldenkrais method for two years in college. This is a method in which the student is encouraged to experiment and explore different ways of moving This method is not only for musicians, but is very popular among them since the way that we move, or don't move can make such a huge difference in how we play.