Student contracts are due! Please return them to me, read and signed by student and parent, at your next lesson.
I now also teach viola! Come learn about the deeper, richer tone the viola can make!
Group classes are kindly hosted by one of our awesome parents. Check your latest newsletter for the address.
Group classes are open to all my students. Come have fun, meet your fellow students, and learn some cool stuff! Please bring your instrument and music.
I'll be moving to my own studio in June. The new studio address will be 206 39th Ave SW, Puyallup. Check back soon for more details!
I strongly encourage everyone to attend at least one concert a year, more if you can.
Tacoma Community College's Symphony Orchestra: Watch the November Performance live! http://www.tacomacc.edu/upload/files/distancelearning/video/TCCOrchestra.html 3/12, 5/19
Seattle Symphony: Almost constant performances! Check our their website for details! www.seattlesymphony.org
Tacoma Symphony Orchestra: 3/21, 4/24, 5/15 www.tacomasymphony.org
Auburn Symphony Orchestra: 3/14, 4/10-11 www.auburnsymphony.org
Northwest Sinfonietta: 3/26-27, 4/16-17 www.nwsinfonietta.org
Rainier Symphony: 4/17-18, 5/15-16 www.rainiersymphony.org
Federal Way Symphony: 3/7, 4/11, 5/2 www.federalwaysymphony.org
Seattle Baroque Orchestra: 4/10 www.seattlebaroque.org
Orchestra Seattle Chamber Singers (orchestra with choral group): 3/14, 4/11, 5/2, 6/6 www.osscs.org
Olympia Symphony Orchestra: 3/14, 4/25 www.olympiasymphony.blogspot.com
Northwest Symphony Orchestra: 3/20, 4/23 www.northwestsymphonyorchestra.org
A poet is a man who puts up a ladder to a star and climbs it while playing a violin.—Edmond de Goncourt
Many students ask this question when they are first starting out, and continue to ask it throughout their playing. The answer is simple, yet different for every student.
When renting an instrument, you pay a monthly fee for use of an instrument. Included in your use, however, is care of the instrument. If you break a string, need your bow rehaired, drop your violin and break your bridge, or even run it over with your car, the dealer will usually repair or replace the instrument for free.
Renting is especially sensible for young students who are constantly growing. If you buy an instrument, you have to buy a new instrument, and sell your old one, every time your student outgrows their instrument, which can be frequently. If you rent, all that is needed is a quick trip into the dealer, who will size the student, and switch your instrument for one of an appropriate size. Sometimes, this will cause the monthly fee to change, but not by more than a couple dollars.
If you are a beginner, there is no real need for a very expensive violin until you gain more experience. However, after a few months to a couple years, a better instrument will be needed. If you are renting, this exchange is easy. You visit the dealer, tell them you want a better violin, and they may let you try a couple to make sure you like the one you end up with, then they do the exchange of instruments. Again, your monthly fee may be affected, but not by much. If you own your instrument and decide to upgrade, you have to buy a new instrument, and sell your old one.
The final benefit to renting comes when it is time to buy an instrument. Most dealers will allow part or all of the monthly rent you have paid to go toward purchasing a new (or used) instrument from them. And this could be the instrument you're renting, or one of a higher quality. So you're not just "throwing money away" when you are renting.
All that being said, owning your own instrument has its perks, too, especially for the advanced player. It allows you to get repairs done where you want them, you can choose the strings that are put on the instrument, and once you have paid off the instrument, you have only maintainance to pay for.
I recommend my beginners to start by renting an instrument, and after a few years, to buy an instrument of a better quality. For a list of local violin dealers, go to the Resources page and click on "Violin Rental Quotes".