Viola with Jennifer L.

Greetings, future students! Welcome to my page. If you have made it all the way here, congratulations-- because you are in good hands! I began violin at the age of 7, after begging my parents since the age of 3 after falling in love with a violin on display. I have 18 years' experience teaching violin, all ages and abilities, and am truly passionate about helping you grow and learn as a musician and human. As I was with begging my parents to let me play violin, I am persistent in helping you achieve your personal best and genuinely care about each of my students as my own children. I have the great fortune to play a variety of styles of music: classical, Baroque (I own a Baroque violin and played for 4 years professionally with a Baroque Music ensemble), traditional Mexican folk tunes, and a fusion of rock/jazz/pop/New Age in a band. I also have the great fortune to possess a variety of training as a teacher, including Suzuki-based, traditional, and Dalcroze Eurthymics. My training as a violinist began in Minneapolis, MN, where I studied with acclaimed violinists Kristina Lantz and Mary West. Mary West taught until she was 96, when she passed away, and left behind a huge legacy of warmth, kindness, and students possessed with both incredible ability and compassion. After high school, I moved on to obtain my performance degree at Oberlin Conservatory, where I simultaneously earned a degree in French. Following my studies there, I moved to Paris, France, where I immersed myself in contemporary music repertoire with outstanding French violinist Jeanne-Marie Conquer, who plays in the world-known Ensemble Intercontemporain. I have performed with orchestras and as soloist in the United States, France, Switzerland, Canada, China, Poland, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Vienna--and have had the immense opportunity of working with artists such as Simon Rattle, Jorja Fleezanis, Robert Spano, and Pierre Boulez. Above all, I have a love and drive for learning and improving--which inevitably you will be the recipient of as my new student. I am dedicated to your growth and improvement--however that may look for you, however we may need to design the lessons to help you achieve your potential. Learning is a conversation, and I do believe it takes two to tango! I look forward to welcoming you into my studio!