I have some exciting news! This Fall I will be offering violin lessons in Holland. I am so grateful to the Holland Symphony Orchestra for allowing me some rental space in their downtown offices. Please share this with anyone you know that is interested in violin lessons for any age and any level. I hope to be teaching a lot of the Suzuki method for young children and offer group classes as well. Go to the contact page to reserve a lesson time.

To any music students in middle or high school I highly recommend participating in a local extracurricular youth ensemble on top of your school groups. If you are headed to college be sure to check out the campus ensembles (many offer groups for music and non-music majors as well!!)

As a participant in youth ensembles myself I can see how they have positively impacted my path as a musician. Connecting with other instrumentalists increases your knowledge and encourages  personal development on so many levels. You will not only get more exposure to performing, but will learn how to work as a team and be a leader. (Yes, you can be a leader and a team player at the same time!)

Below I have listed a few youth orchestras and ensembles in the West Michigan Area along with some upcoming audition details for the 2016-2017 school year. This may not be a fully comprehensive list, so be sure to research for yourself as well.

Grand Rapids Youth Symphony Ensembles:
♢Grand Rapids Youth Symphony & Classical Orchestra:
http://grys.org/get-involved/audition/
http://grys.org/

♢St. Cecilia Music Center Ensembles:
http://www.scmc-online.org/youth-ensembles/
http://www.scmc-online.org/youth-auditions/

Holland Youth Symphony Ensembles:
♢Holland Area Junior Strings & Holland Area Youth Orchestra
https://www.hollandsymphony.org/education-community/youth-orchestra/  

Muskegon Youth Symphony Ensembles:
♢West Michigan Debut Strings & Youth Symphony:
http://westmichigansymphony.org/youth-symphony/debut-strings/ 
https://www.facebook.com/West-Michigan-Youth-Symphony-135694828630/

Auditions will be required for most of these ensembles. If you struggle with stage fright be sure to read my past blog post in the link 'here' on performance anxiety.

Best of luck! & be sure to message me or these organizations for other information. :)
Larissa

In my past 'Theory Thursday' blogs I have talked a bit about the physics of sound. The below video is a great expansion upon that topic! If you are interested in the physics of sound, nodes, antinodes, and learning more about harmonics be sure to watch this great explanation from Patreon's 'Crash Course' Series. They have a few other videos about the physics of sound as well.

Have a great day!
Larissa

Community Pops: America the Beautiful

When: 8.13.16 Concert starts at 7:30pm
Where: Kollen Park’s Henry VanderLinde Bandshell.
240 Kollen Park Dr
Holland, MI 49423
Free admission!  Donations will be accepted during the concert.

Special Guests: Brass Quintet and Singers from the 126th Army Band.

Hope you can make it : )
Larissa

This week I had the privilege of attending PhoenixPhest Grande in Yipsilanti, MI at Eastern Michigan University's campus. This festival and institute included Suzuki instruction for students and teacher trainees along with some fabulous solo and chamber recitals. As a teacher trainee, I learned so much more about different teaching techniques and was able to connect with other violin instructors from across the nation. I am excited to incorporate new techniques into my teaching! The faculty was fantastic and the kids seemed to have a great time. I would recommend this festival to any students seeking more chamber group experience and violin instruction.

To learn more about this and other institutes check out the below websites:

https://phoenixensemble.com/phoenixphest-grande/
https://suzukiassociation.org/events/institutes/

I hope you all are enjoying your summer! Feel free to check out some of the pictures I took during the week.

All the best,
Larissa