Lessons

I offer lessons to cello students of all ages in and around Chicago, as well as video lessons online. I have extensive experience teaching children, teens, and adults of all levels. Want to schedule a lesson? Contact me.

Lesson Policies

Read and print my Lesson Policies.

My Teaching

My priority is to keep in mind that each student has different needs and strengths. Students can expect that I will find ways of teaching that work for them, challenging them while showing them the beauty and fun of playing the cello. I hope for my students to come in with open minds, willing to be challenged and to put in the effort to reach their goals.

Effective teaching calls for a high level of creativity and flexibility. There is no exact formula, that works every time with every student, to teach any given skill. An effective teacher must observe thoughtfully and, often on the spot, come up with solutions that will work with that particular task, for that particular student. I bring a variety of different ideas for activities to my lessons, so that when confronting a difficult skill to learn, such as bow hold or producing a good tone, my student and I do not get stuck in a method book. This is not to knock method books, as they can be invaluable resources. But even if one method is widely used by famous educators and is believed to be fail-safe, for the one time this method does not work for a student, the teacher must be able to try something else. Perhaps most importantly, I make it a priority to include as much real music as possible from the start, so that the students experience musical playing early on. I hope that, in being a creative, inventive teacher, I will set up my students to be more creative themselves, and to love music from the very beginning.

One of the most important values I hope to pass on to my students is that of making each note as beautiful as possible, and having this in mind every time they pick up their instruments. I hope to teach my students to approach music with intention behind every note and to be thinking musically and creatively with every motion they make. Performers make musical decisions with every phrase. I hope not to teach them the “correct” choices to make, but how to make these choices, and, as a broader objective, how to think about music and performing.