My Bio

I am located 7 minutes driving distance from Weimar Institute, located in Colfax, CA. I have really enjoyed teaching the golden art of violin from home studios and music centers for 12 plus years. Students  enjoy the fun way that I engage my students in the diligent practice of the violin and cello;  motivating them to excel. My goal is for students to realize their potential in music ministry. Just recently I began teaching beginning cello using the same method that I have found very successful for teaching the violin. Here is how it all began....

At the age of six I began violin training the Suzuki method with Mrs. Betty Aldrich in San Diego, California. At this young age I was very taken with the instrument after watching a national orchestra perform on television, and I have never lost my passion for strings. The violin has such beauty and pathos. So much human emotion comes through. After a year or two of playing Suzuki, my family relocated and there was no Suzuki teacher, so my parents took me to a traditional violin teacher, who gave up on me and my parents were told that I was unteachable, having been spoiled in the ear-training memorization method of Suzuki. (That was when many teaching this method were not combining Classical training with Suzuki training.)  I am glad that my parents did not give up on my strings training. They found a teacher who had relocated from Hungary after performing in the U.S. with the Hungarian National Orchestra, Zsolt Bayor, who persevered with me until I was able to read notes. Within a few years I played in a community orchestra, and there she was, only a few chairs away from me ~ the very same teacher who had given up on me. I played in several youth orchestras and symphonic orchestras around the country within a few years (Loma Linda Youth Orchestra led by Zsolt Bayor, Loma Linda University Orchestra, Minneapolis Symphonic Orchestra, Lee College Symphonic Orchestra, East Tennessee Symphonic Orchestra) and have played for many special events (church services, weddings, funerals) and improvisational music projects  such as a children's narrated book (a collaboration with Matthew Smith), "On the Day You Were Born", and music CD "We Are Nearing Home" by vocalist, Mitch McCain).

Minneapolis Symphonic Orchestra gave me the brush up I needed after taking a hiatus after college in 1991. Since 2001, I have taught private lessons out of my home studio, conducted group beginning violin sessions at Laurelbrook SDA Academy in Dayton, TN, private lessons at ChattaMusic Music Store in Chattanooga, TN, at Lester Coon Apison SDA Elementary School, and on the campus at Wildwood Lifestyle Center in Wildwood, GA, as well as in many private homes of homeschoolers throughout Southeast Tennessee and Georgia, and now in the Inland Empire my schedule is already getting full.

 In many ways I credit my success to THE VIOLIN BOOK by Eden Van Rosen, which has been a wonderful violin training program. It really works fantastically to train the ear but also to develop the fundamentals for perfect bow control, pitch, note reading, vibrato, scale practice, theory, instrument care, and more.  It is a complete system of learning how to play the violin step by step and is comprehensive enough to serve as a conservatory course, yet even the youngest musician can learn. I have taught 3 and 4 year olds. I even taught a 71 year old student, who, within one year, is now playing in a string group. The Violin Book also offers complete family ensembles with accompanying instrumental parts on viola, cello, guitar, voice, and piano for gospel and holiday venues.

Why do I still maintain a high enthusiasm for music training? Not only is music training a beautiful hobby both entertaining and uplifting, it is one of the fastest ways to build one's IQ. There are studies out there that have already proven this fact. Moreover, it is classical music that has been awarded kudos as the perfect "food" for the ears, serving as a potent healer of the mind and soul. Well adapted to the student's needs, it has been shown to improves performance levels, sleep quality, stress levels, prevent and treat depression, develop social skills, confidence, and much more. Violin has also been recommended as a wonderful instrument for helping children with ADHD overcome problems with learning. The motor development used during violin training gears up the brain to more organized thinking and habits. Music training keeps young people on the positive track. Please read Music Success Stories/Interview with Eden Vaning. Also look at the research blogs on this site. What is really exciting is that College scholarships are awaiting the avid violin student using such methods as The Violin Book for musical training. The Violin Book lesson plan persists in empowering most of its players with these rewards on a regular basis with few exceptions. My motto is, "Achieve your best with music."

Want to know what others have said about their learning experience with me? Click here. If you would like to learn more about me, please check out my Thumbtack profile. I have discovered that this valuable network has helped me to find students in my area who otherwise would not have found me.

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