This year my student Duke prepared and presented a Solo Junior Recital. The repertoire included a movement of unaccompanied Bach, Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saens, and a piece called "Revolving Factory" which Duke transcribed himself for string quintet. The performance included brief lectures prior to each piece that provided background information on the works. He worked hard to prepare for this and did an excellent job!
Spring Recitals 2018
Here's a photo of one-half of the students from my Spring Recitals! This year I split the students into two separate shorter recitals. It made for a more intimate performing and listening experience for both groups and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. This picture is of the 3:30 performers. I'm having some technical difficulties locating a picture of the 1:30 group!
Playing at the Kennedy Center!
My band, The Beanstalk Library had an amazing opportunity to play on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center. The KC offers free daily performances on the Millennium Stage at 6 pm, 365 days a year. We had a great crowd and really enjoyed the show. A few of my students and their families even came out to see us!
My Dog Ate My (Violin) Homework
Recital Preparations!
It's been such a busy spring I've barely had time to update! I've been working on unveiling my new logo and website and spending countless hours preparing students for all kinds of auditions and performances. Yesterday I headed out to South Lakes High School to help my student Duke prepare for his Junior Recital, happening next Saturday. He transcribed (by ear!) a piece and arranged it for string quintet. Here they are after a productive rehearsal. Unfortunately I only captured 3 of them with their eyes open...
Winter Recital 2018
On January 21, I hosted my 7th Annual Winter Recital. It was my largest recital ever, with 35 students performing. I had a packed audience of around 130 people. It was great fun, and all the students came away from the recital with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction! Some of my more advanced students performed movements from Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. For the accompaniment of these movements, I had them play the chamber orchestra parts in a string quartet arrangement so they each had a chance to accompany and be accompanied.
Fall updates!
As always, it's been a busy fall season in the Studio! I've been playing lots of fun wedding gigs with the Cherry Blossom String Quartet, and have taught many violin, viola, and cello lessons! Recently several of my students auditioned and were accepted into their District Honors Orchestras in Fairfax County. They all worked hard to prepare for their auditions and I am proud of them! Now we're busy getting ready for my upcoming Winter Recital on January 21. Here are a few images from this season. The Quartet has continued with our Columbia Diminuendo performance series, through the sun, clouds, and wind!
Bennington Chamber Music Conference
I had an absolutely amazing time last week attending the Chamber Music Conference at Bennington College in Vermont. It was sort of a music camp for adults. Each participant is placed into 3-4 small chamber ensembles, and you have rehearsals, coaching sessions, and for some folks, performances over the course of the week. There are also lots of informal sight-reading get togethers with various types of ensembles. It was a blast!
Spring Recital Highlights
One of my students graciously helped me to compile a video of some of my lovely students' performances, ranging from beginners to more advanced. https://youtu.be/lyHwgPmM_AM
Spring Recital 2017!
A couple of weeks ago, I proudly presented 25 of my students for the Spring Recital. They did a wonderful job with some challenging pieces including the Hoffmeister Viola Concerto, Praeludium and Allegro by Fritz Kreisler, the Bach Double Violin Concerto, and some fun tunes like the Star Wars Main Theme and "Spring" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It is such a joy to work with these kids and help them prepare for a fun and exciting performance. 
Columbia Diminuendo in the Washington Post
My quartet has a nice mention as the "anonymous string quartet" in the aforementioned Holladay Brothers latest project! Check it out!
Purchasing an instrument
For my younger (still-growing) students, I typically recommend that parents rent the fractional size instruments, as most music shops offer an option to trade in the instrument for a larger one as the child grows. Alexandria Music Company offers a great rental program. (Full disclosure: I teach there.) Once a student is ready for a full-size violin, the best option is to purchase a nice-sounding fiddle rather than rent. In the DC area, we are fortunate to have several wonderful shops with great sounding instruments at reasonable prices. Brobst Violin Shop, Foxes Music, Lashof Violins, and Potter Violin Company, and Day Violins all offer an excellent selection. Trying and buying a violin, viola or cello is something that must be done in person and not over the internet. The player needs to experience the sound and feel of each instrument, because they all feel different! Visit one of these locally owned shops if you are in the market for a rental or purchase!
Waiting List
Greetings! If you are interested in starting lessons for yourself or your son/daughter, please drop me a line. I am happy to say that my studio schedule is full at the moment, but sometimes things change and spots open up, particularly at the beginning of summer. I would be happy to put you on my waiting list and contact you if something becomes available.
String Extra-Curriculars
It's beneficial for string players (and all young musicians) to experience music-making and performing via as many outlets as possible. Our local school systems offer amazing Regional, District, and All-State Orchestra Events every year. Auditions are typically at the beginning of the school year for events that take place January-March. Students can talk to their school teachers about obtaining audition materials. Fairfax County VBODA offers the Solo & Ensemble Festival for students to perform solo or in small ensembles and receive feedback from a judge on their playing. It's an excellent opportunity and a lot of fun, too! I am busy helping many of my students prepare for their respective Festivals -- coming up shortly!
Lastly, there are some excellent youth orchestra organizations in the D.C. area. The youth orchestras typically rehearse once per week and present concerts 3-4 times throughout the school year. Admittance to these orchestras is typically based on an audition scheduled in May or June of the prior school year. It's enriching, a great way to meet fellow string players from other schools, and improves musicianship. A couple of organizations I recommend:
Washington Metropolitan Orchestras - An excellent organization that rehearses locally in the Alexandria area
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras - A very well-respected set of orchestras which has opportunities for a wide swath of ages and abilities
Youth Orchestras of Prince William - Another great organization - I am an alumna of these orchestras and have fond memories of fun concerts and their gifted conductors and section coaches
Columbia Diminuendo
My quartet is participating in an exciting project entitled Columbia Diminuendo created by the Holladay Brothers. Throughout 2017, we are performing in the shadow of the Capitol building on the last Sunday of each month (weather permitting). Our next performance is scheduled for Sunday, April 30 at 12 pm. Below we are pictured at the first performance on January 29, 2017. A short clip is available here (as you can see, it was quite windy that day and about 40 degrees! Frozen fingers...)
The piece we are performing is a re-imagining of "Hail, Columbia!" which was performed at George Washington's inauguration.
Winter Recital 2017!
I hosted my 6th annual Winter Student Recital yesterday at the Sanctuary at Convergence. Such a blast! I had to step in for a viola duet as one of my students (1/2 of the duet) was ill, but Maggie took it all in stride.
I am brimming with pride for my students. They all prepared so well for their performances, and seeing their smiles when they finished made my heart melt! What fun it is to see these students grow, mature, and discover the great joy of music and performing. Job well done, all!
Learning Violin as a Grown-up
I loved this article in the Washington Post about adults who decide to take up music lessons! I thought of my current 6 wonderful adult students (as well as many adult students from the past), whom (I hope!) relish the challenges and successes, and the rich life experience, of learning the violin as an adult.
HamiltonMania
My string quartet, (the Cherry Blossom String Quartet) had a super-fun gig a couple weeks ago. Well, all of our gigs are great, but this one was particularly exciting. We play for the National Archives Records of Achievement Awards event every year, which is always lovely. This year, the awards went to Ron Chernow, Thomas Kail, and Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame. The Archives' asked that we perform some songs from Hamilton for the occasion. So, we had "My Shot" and "Wait for It" arranged for string quartet and played these tunes several times throughout the evening as well as many other pieces from our pop repertoire. It was lots of fun, and Mr. Miranda himself gave us a thumb-up and wink of approval during his dinner at the event. We were honored to be a part of it! Here we are on the red carpet.
School Daze
It's hard to believe the summer is over and school is already back in session. We just wrapped up the first week of school in this area. I have to say it's amazing to have the opportunity to watch my wonderful students grow and advance musically, emotionally, and socially through the years. That experience of forging a many-years-long bond with each student is a special one for me as a music teacher. It also boggles my mind how so many of the students seem to magically mature practically the moment they begin 3rd (or 6th...or 9th...) grade! Several students in the studio have extended their lessons this year to 45 minutes (as opposed to 30 minutes), and that has been hugely beneficial. It's wonderful to have ample time to warm up with scales, devote time to technique, and sometimes even be able to work on sight-reading skills, in addition to the usual etudes and solos. What a difference that extra 15 minutes makes in a violin or viola lesson!
Update on lesson openings: My home studio is currently fully booked, but I have a few openings on Fridays at Alexandria Music Center. Contact me for details!
I'm back!
Sorry for the long delay in updating the blog. It has been a busy spring in the studio, and we just wrapped up our 5th annual Spring Recital last weekend! Two weeks ago, I held my 2nd annual Mini-recital for my adult students. Both performances were tons of fun. There were several students who were brand-new to the excitement of live performance, and all the adrenaline and jitters that come with it!
One of my students performed the first movement of the Bach Double Violin Concerto with her brother. Here they are rehearsing with my dog Luke supervising. (He loves violin lessons!) 
And, here are both my youth and adult studios, post-recital. The post-performance relief and pride is evident!
