JAVS Fall 2000

VoL. 16 No.3

36

jOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETY

Students should play in their school orchestra even if the orchestra falls below their own standards. Without a question, students should make time to play in the best possible youth orchestras and chamber music pro grams available. They should take every opportunity to perform in master classes and to attend summer camps and programs with other teachers. Gaining technique is a simple mechanical skill. It is through exposure to dif ferent artistic venues that a truly fine musician is created. Not all my students will pursue careers in music. However, I hope that when they grad uate from high school, many of the seeds I planted will take root and bloom in college or even later in life. Regardless of their ultimate professions, I know that all ofmy students will have gained a respect for the arts and, hope fully, in the course of their lives, will in turn give back to the world some of that beauty. l!l -Christine Due maintains a private studio in Chicago where she is also an active freelance vio list. In 1997 she was awarded the Outstanding Private Teacher ofthe Year Award by the Illinois Chapter of the American String Teachers Association. She currently is the Secretary ofthe Chicago Viola Society. Her most influential teachers were David Becker, Eduard Melkus, Nannie jamieson, and the music of johann Sebastian Bach.

process. If you fail to learn some vocabulary along the way, you reap the results, albeit neg ative, later in the process. Although a teacher is an important influ ence, we are merely external figures. I teach my students to internalize their work, becom ing their own teachers. For the younger stu dents I suggest that they imagine Bach or Beethoven standing next to them listening to their practicing. When students search my face for approval during a lesson, I ask them to critique their own work first, because in the end they are the only judge that matters. Except for the youngest students, whose rewards are hugs and kisses from their parents, I stress that the best reward for fine perform ances is the students' own self-esteem. Like a pyramid, a student with a broad base of knowledge is a far more stable and secure construction than a cylinder whose learning is singular and narrow. Starting with beginners, healthy amounts of music history, theory, and listening assignments are incorpo rated into lessons. With the older students, there are numerous discussions about art, pol itics, society, and life. Students' minds are fer tile territory easily influenced by new ideas and concepts. Private teachers can be helpful to parents by recommending appropriate books, movies, and recordings that will help broaden the learning base of each child. To further increase their knowledge, stu dents should also be exposed to the musical and technical ideas of other musicians.

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