The program
The Collaborative Strings program offers violin and viola lessons, group classes, and chamber music coachings for students at all levels. Students range from young beginners partnering with their parent within the context of the Suzuki method through older, more advanced students deepening their skills, ownership, and level of engagement.
Read below for more information about
the different ways to bring music into your child’s life
Suzuki Method for Violin and Viola;
nurturing, foundation, growth
The Collaborative Strings Suzuki Program utilizes the core principles of the the Suzuki method as the foundation for facilitating mastery of the instrument, practice skills for consistent learning, and parental and community support for ease, engagement, and joy. Students learn with the support and partnership of a parent who attends their lessons, practices with them at home, and helps to bring music into their environment. Parents are given tools both with in and outside the lesson to help guide their child through daily practice so children can find the ease and consistent growth to keep them motivated and engaged. Besides private lessons with their parent, students participate in a group class with other students of similar age and level to increase their level of fun, build their skills for playing with others, and offer a greater variety of activities to keep learning interesting. Besides lessons and group, students participate in three concerts and recitals each year and can choose to participate in casual practice performance gatherings, expand their learning with chamber music, and explore other activities within the community based on their own interest.
Traditional for violin and viola;
engagement, advancement, ownership
While students at every level, including Suzuki students, explore beyond their repertoire to include reading, scales, etudes, and exercises aimed at developing the mental and physical skills necessary to master their repertoire, advanced and advancing students, not just those beyond the Mozart Concertos, also expand their repertoire beyond Suzuki material and learn strategies for practicing independently of their parents. As students advance and grow their ability to take ownership of their practice and learning, develop their problem solving skills, and elevate their awareness of the details of their playing, they are able to gradually take a step away from the direct guidance of their parents. While they continue to receive emotional and logistical support, students old enough, who have garnered observation, organizational, and problem solving skills gradually receive the reins of their education and take ownership of their own learning.
Chamber music;
informed decision making, communication, teamwork
One of the greatest gifts music brings to its participants is how it brings them together, both to make and share music. The chamber music students develop a deep experience of music, critical thinking, independence, and ownership along with communication skills necessary for teamwork and developing a shared vision. Interested students expand their musical education by playing in smaller ensembles like duets, trios, and quartets based on level, social compatibility, and interest level. With their own part, students expand their abilities to hold their own while contrasting parts are played by others, coordinate those parts with others, be aware of multiple parts at once, make musical decisions based on musical structure and the coordinating harmonies while tapping into their own instincts and reactions to the music they hear. Beyond just the music, students learn to communicate freely and peacefully with each other as a strategy to engage everyone in making fully engaged, explored, and informed musical options on their path towards a shared vision. Students meet weekly between 30 - 60 minutes each time, perform 2 -3 times a year, and have the option to participate in community auditions and events, and one off weekend retreats.
Adult private study and chamber music
Whether they want to build on their time studying as youth, fulfill life long dreams of learning music, sharpen their skills for auditions or new musical adventures, or enjoy the exhilaration of expressing through chamber music, adults can engage in private lessons or chamber music in a supportive and engaged community.
“I have come to understand that music
is not part of “arts and entertainment” as the newspaper section would
have us believe. It’s not a luxury, a lavish thing that we fund from
leftovers of our budgets, not a plaything or an amusement or a pass
time. Music is a basic need of human survival. Music is one of the ways
we make sense of our lives, one of the ways in which we express feelings
when we have no words, a way for us to understand things with our hearts
when we can’t with our minds.”