Nikkia C  
Instruments: Violin, Viola
Styles: Classical, Folk, Country

I have been teaching for the past 11 years and have had a full studio of 20-25 students during that time. Over the past four summers I have also directed chamber music and fiddle music camps. I specialize in starting very young children on the violin, as young as age 2, although depending on the child starting between ages 3-6 is ideal. It is very important to me to tailer my teaching to each student and their developmental and musical level. I love introducing children to new musical concepts and coming alongside them on this often life-long musical journey. There is unique relationship that forms during private music lessons, one that can have a large impact on the student, and I take that responsibility very seriously. That said, I like to make learning to play the violin as fun and easy as possible without sacrificing fundamental technique. I have had great sucess with various practice stragegies and find my students are highly motivated by these. I encourage performing at a young age and often, along with participating in music festivals and, as they become older, youth orchestras and chamber groups. 

For young students, I use a Suzuki Method hybrid, meaning I incorporate additional note-reading and music theory elements while using the Suzuki Violin books and Suzuki's core values of imitation and ear training. I also supplement with many pieces outside of the Suzuki Method, including folk, blues, fiddle, and other styles. As students progress I include traditional etudes, technique studies and scales. My ultimate goal is to give my students all the tools they need to play and learn pieces on their own, and to that end I ensure they fully comprehend and master each step of learning before introducing new concepts.