Viola with Megan H.

Hi there! I am Megan. I have been teaching violin and viola privately for over 12 years, both in-person and online. I have been a TakeLessons instructor for approximately the last 5 years. In addition to my private studio, I am also a violin, viola, and group class instructor for Kalamazoo Kids in Tune, an innovative free after-school youth development program serving students in grades 3-12. To tell you a little bit about my training, I recently earned my Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance at the University of Colorado Boulder. My doctoral research focused on teaching adult beginners. While at CU, I served as the Graduate Teaching Assistant to Károly Schranz and Harumi Rhodes, the former and current second violinists in the world-renowned Takács quartet. In addition to assisting with administrative tasks, I met with undergraduate and graduate students for weekly private lessons to assist with their technical and musical development. We covered scales, arpeggios, doublestops, etudes, technical exercises, and repertoire. I also hold Master of Music and Artist Diploma degrees from Western Michigan University, where I served as the graduate teaching assistant to Professor Renata Artman Knific and studied viola with Professor Igor Fedotov. During my time at Western, I was the primary instructor for undergraduate Music Education, Music Therapy, and Music Composition majors' private violin lessons. I completed my Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance at the University of Iowa, where I studied violin with Dr. Scott Conklin and viola with Dr. Megan Gray. I have performed with several symphony orchestras, including the Kalamazoo Symphony, Grand Rapids Opera, South Bend Symphony, West Michigan Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony, Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, Boulder Philharmonic, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, Fort Collins Symphony, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Cheyenne (WY) Symphony Orchestra, Steamboat Springs Symphony Orchestra, Holland (MI) Symphony, and the Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra. Recently, I appeared as soloist with the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra, my former youth orchestra. I also manage a wedding and event music business called the KalHaven Strings. As a teacher, my goal is to give students the tools to make playing their instrument easy and fun. My teaching style is friendly, casual, enthusiastic, detail-oriented, and full of positive reinforcement. I also believe in giving students the tools to make their daily practice sessions as rewarding and productive as their weekly lessons, and provide lesson notes, handouts, and videos to aid student practice. I teach online and in-person out of my home studio in the Westwood neighborhood of Kalamazoo, MI. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with any questions that you may have! I am happy to help.