Experienced Violin Teacher for Beginner to Advanced students

Christine L.

I'm Christine! I graduated summa cum laude from Indiana University, Bloomington, with a Bachelor's degree in violin performance (Jacobs School of Music). Immediately after graduation, I went on to teach middle and high school orchestra for three years, where I taught the whole gamut- from new sixth graders who had never seen sheet music to high school musicians preparing for college auditions. I taught both in the classroom setting and in individual lessons, and after leaving my teaching job to attend graduate school, I continued teaching private lessons as a volunteer at a local music nonprofit. Many of my previous students have successfully auditioned into their All-State and regional orchestras, and some have gone on to careers in music.

In my teaching, I try to embrace the best parts of the teachers I admired growing up, encouraging students to do their best without ever turning music-making into a chore. For beginners, I use a combination of methods including Essential Elements and Suzuki, but I work with each student to identify their unique learning strengths and modify the learning materials as needed. For intermediate and advanced students who are interested in learning standard classical repertoire, we can decide together what concertos and sonatas will be challenging yet approachable to maximize the utilization of new technique. For students interested in learning fiddle-style violin, I can help lay the foundation needed to play the fiddle, and we can learn classic fiddle tunes together.

In addition to teaching music, I continue to perform violin through local chamber music recitals, as I believe that maintenance of my own technical ability directly influences my teaching. Whether it be through performing or teaching, I hope to inspire anyone, no matter the age, to engage with music through the violin, as it is an experience that can change how one hears the world.