I believe that music is one of the most beautiful and powerful communication tools given to us by God. The power of music can reach the innermost corners of the heart and soul (if truly played from the heart and soul). It is capable of changing lives and bringing people together. Not much else in this world can accomplish that!  It is a privilege to have instruments to play on, music to put on the stand and great teachers available to learn from.  I believe that studying music seriously is one of the greatest things a child can do for the development of their brains, the results of which can be seen for years afterward. Studying music seriously also develops a high level of discipline and so many beautiful character traits such as respectfulness, sensitivity, beauty, confidence, imagination and creativity - just to name a few.  I believe that music is a language and that learning music will happen most successfully in an environment of music immersion - similar to French immersion.  A student is most likely to succeed when the entire family loves and listens to classical music, speaking the ‘language’ as often as possible at home.  I consider each lesson I teach to be an important step in the development of the student, and I expect the students' work ethic at home to reflect the importance of each lesson.  My first goal as your teacher is to ensure that your child develops the very best technique possible, in order to play with ease and comfort.  My second goal is to insure that your child develops the very best and efficient practice habits.  My third goal is to teach repertoire at the correct level for your child’s technical skills.  I prefer not to teach repertoire that a student is not ready for.  If a student has mastered each technique needed for the repertoire, a piece can be learned quickly and easily and may be enjoyed much sooner. This will result in a happy, confident and beautiful sounding student.  These are my goals for your child. I have NO interest in producing prodigies or fostering a competitive nature in students or families.  I will not entertain the interests of parents and students who’s goals greatly differ to mine and could lead to future failure or injury of the young violinist.  If studying violin is simply a passing activity for your family and you are only interested in playing repertoire pieces and having ‘fun’, then I am most likely not the right teacher for you.  Teachers who have greatly influenced my teaching include: Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, Dr. Virginia-Gene Rittenhouse, Dr. Gerald Fischbach and Rebecca Henry.