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!
Bow Hold fun!
Just found this delightful little video by everyone's favorite violinist, Itzhak Perlman, on his preferred bow hold. I know I'm always telling my students some of this info in lessons, but sometimes it helps to hear it from another source. :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r0WW-KN6VM
Summer Camp!
The Washington area is currently bracing for its first winter storm 2016. What better time to start considering summer music programs for your student?? I'm a huge proponent of summer music camps, especially sleep-away programs. They are wonderful way for students to experience and immerse themselves in new music in a beautiful setting, meet other like-minded young musicians, and study with new teachers and conductors. Right now is the time for students to send off applications and audition recordings! I've done a bit of research and here are some great programs:
- Brevard Music Festival (for high school age students)
- Sewanee Music Festival (ages 12 and up)
- Killington Music Festival (ages 12 and up)
- Camp Encore/Coda (grades 3 through 11)
This is just a tiny sampling of some of the wonderful summer programs. As an alumna of two of the programs above, I still cherish the memories and the invaluable musical experiences from these programs.
Openings at Alexandria Music Co.
I have some rare openings in my schedule at Alexandria Music Company. If you or your son/daughter are interested in taking violin or viola lessons, contact me for details! January is a perfect time of year to start lessons, after things settle down from the holidays! Music is an ideal indoor activity.
Winter Recital 2015
Another Winter Recital is down in the books! Last weekend, 22 of my students performed solo for an audience of about 90. Despite lots of nerves and jitters, they did a super job. And the recital ended with a bang -- my final performer, Duke, broke his bow in the final measure of his solo, Slavonic Fantasie by Dvorak-Kreisler. It was an exciting way to wrap up! Enjoy the pics below.
I have taught siblings Nozomi and Duke since they were FIVE. Now they're in high school and they tower over me!
Here I am with all of my wonderful students who performed!
"10 Tips to Encourage Your Child to Practice"
I really love this article -- give it a read if you are a parent of a music student! My only qualm is the "Give it 12 months" suggestion. If a student is trying to make the violin or viola sound decent, it will likely take more like 2-3 years! Patience is key!
Happy students, happy teacher
I was so excited to learn in the past week that 4 of my students have been placed 1st chair in their school orchestras! Teaching all of my students is a delight regardless of where they sit in orchestra, but it's always wonderful to see my students' faces light up (and their confidence skyrocket) when they are moved to the front of their sections. Many of the students are currently hard at work for my upcoming Winter Recital. It's a little strange working on holiday/winter-themed music prior to Halloween. But, early recital prep leads to confident and satisfying performances!
Interested in learning violin? Now's the time!
If you or your son/daughter has been pondering the idea of picking up the violin or viola, summer is the ideal time to try it out! For my school-age students, taking lessons now is a great way to get a head start on school strings class (for brand-new beginners). For more experienced students, summer lessons are a great way to improve and learn new techniques during a season when many kids leave their instruments to collect dust in the corner. :) Summer is also the perfect time for adult students (beginner or experienced) to get into lessons. Work schedules tend to be lighter, and days are longer. What better way to enrich your life and increase your brainpower than learning the violin?
For teachers, summer is a transitional time when some students move away, so there are typically more schedule openings for new students, and you can beat the "fall rush" when there's typically an influx of new students. Shoot me an email if you're interested!
Caring for your beloved instrument
Since it's been quite toasty outside lately, here are a few instrument-care reminders to keep your fiddle in tip-top shape! 1) Never leave the violin/viola in a hot car for any extended period of time. Hot temperatures wreak havoc on the delicate wood instruments. Heat causes cracking, bubbling in varnish, and warping. Bring it inside with you whenever possible!
2) Humid temperatures can cause pegs to stick or become impossible to move. For a lightly sticking peg, loosen it first, then gently turn it until the string reaches the correct pitch. If it won't budge, don't force it -- pegs can break, and then you'll have a real problem on your hands. Instead, take it to a reputable violin repair person such as Brobst Violins, Michael Weller, or Potter's Violins. They can use a peg lubricant to loosen it up.
3) To keep the violin finish looking gorgeous, always wipe it off with a soft cloth after playing. Make sure to get underneath strings where rosin dust builds up. Also remember to wipe the strings themselves to remove rosin dust from the bowing area and any residue from the fingerboard. Lastly, to prevent fingerprints, try to avoid handling the violin by the wooden body. Instead, hold the violin from the neck.
4) When you are returning your instrument to its case, remember to loosen the bow so that the hair becomes slack. Otherwise, undue pressure is placed on the hair and the wood of the bow, putting both at risk for breakage.
Another Recital in the Books!
A couple of weeks ago, I hosted my Spring Recital for all of my wonderful young students. This recital included some fun collaborations with some musician parents, including cellists and pianists. Quite a few students selected movie music for their performance, including Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the Sound of Music. Enjoy the pics!
Spring Student Recital approaching!
It's just around the corner! On June 13, 2015 at 10:30 am at Convergence, I'll be hosting my annual Spring Violin & Viola recital for my students. I absolutely love working with students in their lessons to prepare for a recital. It's exciting, and a little stressful, and so very rewarding to see them make progress on the solos they choose! This recital will again feature some new ensembles (trios? quartets? duos?), as well as some musician parents performing alongside their kids. Can't wait!
Welcome to The Guest Room
My band, The Beanstalk Library, has started a fun new concert series in 2015 entitled "The Guest Room." We are collaborating with other area musicians on a monthly basis by organizing a shared show, and performing as a backup band for our featured guests. January and March's shows featured performances by Derek Evry and Lauren Calve, respectively. Our next installment of The Guest Room will be on Wednesday, April 29 at 8 pm and will showcase singer/songwriter Carolyn Crysdale. The Guest Room is hosted at The Evening Star, a well-known haunt in Del Ray (Alexandria), VA. They will be serving up their always-tasty eats and drinks. These shows are free and open to the public. Swing by and check it out!
Lauren Calve with The Beanstalk Library
Concert coming up!
My quartet, The Cherry Blossom String Quartet, will be collaborating with saxophonist Anders Lundegard and clarinetist Terry Guidetti on a very fun performance in April! It will be at The Lyceum in Old Town Alexandria, Saturday April 25 at 7 pm. Since the quartet is always busy with weddings and other private events, we are excited for the opportunity to present this concert open to the public! Hope to see you there!