Violin with LisaJo B.

LisaJo brings more than 40 years of private studio experience to her students. Steeped with knowledge of music history, theory and composition, LisaJo has a Bachelor of Music Education from Eastern Illinois University, and extensive orchestral-performance experience as a violinist and conductor. During the past 40 years, she has developed her abilities as a diagnostician of obstacles in the musical learning process--both cognitive and physical. While teaching students from age eight through adult, and enjoying all of them, LisaJo has become a recognized teacher of of the adult beginner and adult restart. She takes a very individualized approach with her students, recognizing technical and emotional components to each individual's learning process. Although she has studied with teachers from various other violin lineages, her technique is based on the teaching of Carl Flesch and Ivan Galamian. Additionally LisaJo studied with Kato Havas, whose New Approach to string teaching has been acknowledged by the American String Teachers Association as one of the three main string methods in the world. "The New Approach is not a method in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a highly organized system which prevents and eliminates tensions and anxieties. It highlights the physical, mental and social aspects of performance with special reference to violin playing (although the principles apply equally to other instruments). It unifies mind, body and spirit, and coordinates the natural balances of the body into an effortless and powerful whole." Havas' focus on communication between mind and body in the music-making process has been incorporated deeply in LisaJo's teaching style. LisaJo is one of the few teachers in the United States educated in the New Approach.