Violin with Jaime S.

Jaime Smith began her formal Classical Violin Performance studies with William Barbini (Concert-master, Sacramento Symphony) at California State University, Sacramento. She then continued her studies with Malcolm Lowe (Concert-master, Boston Symphony) and Eric Rosenblith (String Department Chair, N.E.C.) at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she graduated with a degree in Violin Performance. In 1999 Jaime was the first musician to be granted a Fulbright Scholarship to Greece to study its traditional music. She attended the National Conservatory and the Athens Conservatory with Kyriakos Gouventas. She spent 17 years performing all over Greece and Cyprus and California with celebrated artists. She has performed countless times on Greek and Cypriot television and radio. In 2007 she formed the music trio Hohlax and since then has organized 7 concert tours of California dedicated to sharing her love for Greek music to others. Along with her performances and events in California she has held performance seminars at California State University, Sacramento and University of California, Davis. She continues to organize tours for her trio, and she also performs up and down the coast. Jaime was “Solfege Assistant” for the Solfege Department at N.E.C., and believes in the teaching of solfege to her violin students to be fundamental, empowering and extremely helpful. She has seen progress in those students who chose to add solfege to their lessons in these ways: faster understanding and recognition of musical intervals, a stronger understanding of rhythm and the important ability of the student to hear the melody in their head before playing. Solfege is encouraged but optional.