Ms. Claire Allen has been teaching Violin at the Academy for over 5 years. She established the Academy’s Violin Beginnings group class for young children, where students age 4-7 are introduced to the violin and violin music in a highly accessible, engaging and enjoyable way. Looking back, Ms. Allen reflects on what the class has meant to her and her students.
When I first started teaching Violin Beginnings five years ago, I really had no idea what to expect. It was my first experience teaching students that young (ages 4-7) where the group class was primary, not supplemental, to the learning process. And so, we learned together. It didn’t take me long at all to fall in love with my class. Teaching young students violin from the very beginning is an awe-inspiring experience. Seeing their excitement in learning new things every class, discovering how to make new sounds on their instruments, and finally, being able to play music together is something really special.
Today, three of the students from that very first Violin Beginnings class have been taking private lessons with me and participating in several other Academy experiences for the last four years! They have taken regular private lessons and played in supplemental group classes, attended Summer Violin Bootcamp, performed as soloists and part of chamber groups, performed in Mason’s Harris Theater in honors recitals, participated in music ministry at their churches, received “Superior” ratings in Solo & Ensemble Festival and successfully auditioned for area youth orchestras. They’re pictured above in 2013, in their first group class, and we recreated the photo just last month at the 2018 session of Violin Bootcamp, pictured below. I’m looking forward to a fantastic year of lessons with them.
Both the students and their parents attribute their initial interest in violin and their continued success to the strong foundation they received in Violin Beginnings. Ms. Graff, Bailey’s mom, writes “Ms. Claire, you inspired us to keep going. Your professionalism and excitement over seeing the children make progress helped me to envision a day when songs, not just squeaks, would be played.” She also mentioned that one of her favorite memories from the experience was being in a class with other families and children. “I enjoyed meeting other families who had children interested in music at a young age.”
Jiening, one of those four original class students, reflected that her favorite memory from Violin Beginnings was playing violin with the other kids and listening to them play music too. When asked what advice she would give to new students, she said, “Even if the first days are hard, just keep on going and you will get the hang of it.” [See a recent performance from Jiening below.]
Currently, our Violin Beginnings team consists of myself, Rachel McAleer, and the newest addition to the team, Drew Robertson. Ms. McAleer and I are so excited to continue working with these special students, and thrilled to welcome Mr. Robertson. Mr. Robertson has extensive Suzuki training and experience working with young children, so we are eager to collaborate with him to make our program even better.
So, if you’re interested in giving your child a strong start in violin, we highly recommend our Violin Beginnings classes. You and your child will receive a structured, engaging, dynamic introduction to the violin, support in establishing a musical home environment for your child’s learning, and strong connections to our arts community – including friendships that can last for years!
SEE VIOLIN BEGINNINGS CLASS DETAILS