@skieurope How funny that you should mention Sasha!!! I met him in Boston 
I don’t want to be too specific but my teacher studied in conservatory, he was a student of Rostropovich and later studied with Starker. He is currently the principal cellist of a relatively reputable orchestra and holds a teaching position at a University of some musical repute. Most of his students are conservatory students at his teaching position but he has some high school musicians, I was referred to him by one of his students who was teaching me. I know his graduating student last year went on to conservatory at Carnegie Mellon, which is pretty good! his teaching style is pretty brutal when it comes to honesty, but it is for this reason that I have some confidence in submitting. I know him, if he didn’t think it was good enough he would be very very very vocal about it :). I spent literally seven hours with him recording a single Bach suite…
On a side note, if future posts could not make the assertion that I am arrogant or rude that would that would be very appreciated. I don’t really know what you want me to say, I try to apologize or explain myself but apparently that is not accepted. I have posted a question and I wish to discuss it but let the record state that even though this is an online forum, I am sort of taken personally by this assertion. I find it rude from this point to continue to make a point that I have already tried to apologize for.