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Music

Faculty Feature: Zachary Whitaker

Zachary Whitaker is one of the newest members of our string faculty and is building a private cello studio in addition to his work as a chamber coach and a member of the Faculty String Quartet. Faculty Coordinator Claire Allen sat down to learn more about Mr. Whitaker and his cello playing.

 

CAllen: How long have you taught at Potomac Arts Academy?

ZWhitaker: About six months.

 

CAllen: What is special about working for the Academy?

ZWhitaker: Potomac is special because the staff put the growth and development of the students first. Since I’ve been at Potomac, there have already been efforts to create friendly competitions for the students, to add classes to the curriculum, and free concerts have been given to showcase the teachers whom the students work with.

 

CAllen: How did you first fall in love with music?

ZWhitaker: When I was a freshman in high school, we were all given the opportunity in orchestra to advance our seating by “challenging” the next highest seated player to a playing test. I began that year as last chair out of about seven, and ended up second chair by the end of the year. The drive to become as proficient as these upperclassmen helped me to understand and to appreciate the factors which make music so enjoyable to play and listen to.

 

CAllen: Tell me about a teaching experience you had which was especially memorable.

ZWhitaker: It wasn’t so much a teaching experience as a teaching outcome, but one of the proudest moments I had was watching a student of mine play the Vivaldi C minor Cello Concerto with their youth orchestra, which happened to have been the same youth orchestra that I had played in while in high school. We had worked together on the piece for some time, and all of this student’s efforts and determination came together in a truly excellent performance.

 

CAllen: What are some unique things you do when you teach?

ZWhitaker:  I don’t know if anything I do is truly “unique”, though maybe it’d be considered such to someone who has not witnessed many music lessons. I’ve danced for students, I’ve had students dance… I have students come up with stories to their music, I have students sing their parts, I’ve had students compose music which we then play together, I’ve accompanied students on the piano, I’ve hopped up and down to the beat for students. I also tell my students to relate aspects of cello technique to bouncing a basketball, which some might find unconventional.

 

CAllen: Do you have any pets?

ZWhitaker: My family has a cat named Tiggur, who is an eight year old black Persian. He is proud, sassy, and he always finds his way into shenanigans.

 

Image of a cello

 

You can hear Mr. Whitaker perform in his upcoming Master’s Recital on Sunday, April 23 at 5 pm. The recital is at Vienna Baptist Church: 541 Marshall Rd., SW, Vienna, VA 22180. See Map

In our Fall 2017 semester, Mr. Whitaker will also be teaching a Beginning Cello Class for young students ages 4-7, as he completes his Master’s degree in Cello Performance and Pedagogy at George Mason University. Young students (and parents) interested in exploring the idea of cello playing can sign up for our Summer Music Sampler which includes a day of cello introduction by Mr. Whitaker!

 

SEE ZACHARY WHITAKER’S BIO

 

The Academy will be closed for Spring Break beginning Monday, March 25 and will re-open on Monday, April 1. We will be operating with limited hours. For any urgent requests, please call 703-993-9889.

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