Viola with Brett C.

Hi there! My name is Brett and thank you so much for checking out my profile! I am so excited that you have decided to start your music journey. Music can be one of the most powerful and impactful art forms we experience in our lives and I am happy to see that you are thinking about learning how to make some of your own music. I would love to be your guide on this journey! Let me tell you about myself. I have been playing professionally for over a decade and have been teaching for 5 years. I currently hold a Bachelor of Music degree from Stetson Univeristy and a Master of Arts degree from the Univeristy of Central Florida (Go Knights!) I have worked with students as young as 3 to as old as 63. I have worked with with Central Florida non-profits such as A Gift for Music, United Arts and the Early Learning Coalition to bring music education and violin to students. Currently, I am the principal violist of Orlando’s Classern String Quartet while maintaining a freelance career as a violinist and violist working with many orchestras, bands, and theaters, including the Florida Lakes Symphony, Brevard Symphony, The Revival Band, Michael Bolton's 2019 tour and the Dr. Philips Center. I also have a soft spot for musical theater and have enjoyed performing many Broadway productions on both violin and viola such as West Side Story, Les Misérables, and Spring Awakening in the Orlando area. My studio is a place of safety, freedom, and expression for the student. Students are not only free to be themselves, but free to make mistakes. "Mistakes" are often the most important part of the learning journey! With each mistake we have an oppurtunity to learn from it and grow even stronger as a player. My teaching style is encouraging and positive and I believe that the lesson is a collaborative effort. During each lesson, it is my job as the instructor to give the student the tools and critical thinking skills they need that week in order to practice well and solve problems on their own outside of the lesson. It is then the student’s responsibility before the next lesson to practice thoughtfully and consistently, treating preparation for the next lesson with the utmost care. While I do expect that a student’s practice should be treated seriously, this does not mean that the sessions should be arduous or boring. Most of us love music because music is fun! We say that we play music, not ‘work’ music! If a student feels that she is spending too much time feeling as if she is working rather than playing when she plays, then it necessary to reevaluate her assignments. I’ve had string students play pop music, folk music, film music, arrangements of their favorite song on the radio, and even electronic music! It is an important part of the collaboration that the student’s thoughts and feelings are validated and incorporated. This not only provides a positive lesson experience for the student,but a highly individualized one as well. While every student receives the same high quality of lesson, no student receives the same lesson as another. Each lesson is tailored to the individual student’s background, ability, and passions using a variety of some of the world’s most successful string teaching methods, systems and philosophies. While a sequential approach to teaching is essential to a student’s success, music is an incredibly expressive and personal art form, and no one system or method of teaching fits all. Every student is capable of being a great player. Students should feel never leave a lesson feeling as if they “can’t” learn a skill or mechanism. If a student is particularly struggling with a technique, it just means we haven’t found the right learning tool that caters to that student’sstrengths yet. As the saying goes, “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. I can't wait to meet you! (: