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Presser Foundation Award
Boston Symphony Resident Fellowship
I grew up as a cellist in El Sistema, a huge educational system in Venezuela that’s famous for its innovative process and for creating among other great musicians, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra. El Sistema relies heavily on the buddy system, which means that as I learned and was taking lessons from cellists who weren’t that much older than me, I was also teaching lessons and translating for masterclasses by the time I was 12. Teaching the cello is something that I kept doing when I came to the US to study at Juilliard, teaching at their MAP program and other programs in the New York area. I’ve taught students of all ages and levels, and truly believe that building a healthy rapport with my students is the only way to instill in them the passion I have for music and for the cello. I don’t like forcing students to do something they’re not passionate about, however, a big part of what I teach is that how you do something is how you do everything. I just moved to the Boston area to play with the Boston Symphony as their resident fellow and I can’t wait to start serving the community and find some students to share my experience with!
My teaching career started during my undergraduate degree at Juilliard where I was deeply involved with several educational programs, both in and out of Juilliard. I taught cello at the Union City Music Project, The Washington Heights Conservatory, the MAP pre-college program at Juilliard, and also taught privately. Since then I’ve dedicated myself more to playing in orchestra, I’ve played with the Cincinnati Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, New Jersey Symphony and I’m currently playing with the Boston Symphony, but have maintained a private studio since.
It depends on the student's age and level of skill, however, I like to focus on building a good rapport with a student while learning and cementing the essentials of cello playing: having a good posture, holding the bow, reading, etc. I prefer to have a process that is somewhat slow in the beginning and that gradually picks up as the student becomes more acquainted with the cello. If a new student already knows the basic things, I still like to do a quick brush up to see what bad habits need to be fixed and how we can move forward in the most productive way.
I'm all about being honest with my students, and I love it when my students are honest with me--even difficult questions such as: do I really like the cello? I want my students to enjoy our lessons, and I will be doing all I can to show you how fun it can be. Questions that might be helpful for students to think about are: what kind of music do you like? how much time could you practice every day? what other interests/sports/activities do you pursue apart from school? The answer to these questions will help us establish a solid ground to start our lessons!