<p>Hello to all! I am new to this board, so please forgive in advance if someone has posted on this topic and/or if my language/etiquette is incorrect. My daughter is a 17 yo violinist, very talented but with some large gaps in her technique. We have recently relocated to NYC and while she has played for some "big name" teachers, I do sense that they do not want to do much polishing and are moere or less content to let her slop through the big, virtuoso pieces. I know that she can get into a great school if she tidies up her technique. A string player myself, I know that she needs to do the polishing now, before the pace of college sweeps in. Can anyone recommend some great technique teachers in the NY area? Also, do any NY teachers have weekly/monthly master/group classes (I know this is the case in pre-college programs -- but do any private studios do this)? Thank you so much in advance!</p>
<p>EJMc, welcome. There are literally hundreds of very capable, very talented instructors in the NYC metro area, and a wide price range as well. </p>
<p>Have you considered either the MSM or Juilliard pre college programs, or consulted the faculty lists?</p>
<p>Do you have a local luthier, often an excellent source of specific suggestions. Peers are often a fantstic source for recommendations. You mention being a string player yourself. I’m going to state the obvious, but there is tremendous talent within the myriad numbers of orchestras, symphonies and ensembles beyond the NY Phil, Met Opera and others, not to mention faculty at CUNY/Copland, Brooklyn Conservatory, NYU, etc. </p>
<p>Are you looking for someone in Manhattan, or are you willing to cast your search into the boroughs, or beyond into the surrounding suburbs including immediate CT and NJ areas?</p>
<p>Lastly, I’m assuming you’re aware of <a href=“http://www.violinist.com/[/url]”>http://www.violinist.com/</a> , where you might want to peruse or repost a concurrent question there.</p>
<p>Many thanks! Yes, in NYC it almost seems like there are too many options! I kind of dread beginning the search with my d – though it may be inevitable. I personally do find that I have a difficult time distinguishing teachers that HAVE great students (so often the case at the conservatory level, for obvious reasons) and teachers that CREATE great students (harder to find, imho) – and I’m not comfortable leaving the assessment solely to my daughter. I do have a bunch of leads…I don’t know if throwing names about is “frowned upon” on this site, but I do hear great things about Sylvia Rosenberg, Catherine Cho, Grigory Kalinovsky, Hyo Kang, and Joey Corpus.</p>
<p>The question is valid, and doesn’t fall into a taboo category.</p>
<p>Instructor names are used in reference to institution faculty, various summer programs, and several have asked for specific options such as yours. Those able to suggest a few are usually more than happy to do so, and I imagine there are many who go into deeper detail via PM and email.</p>
<p>If you were looking for viola, I’d have listed five or six. I just can’t recall posters with violin specific knowledge in NYC to direct you to within this forum. </p>
<p>The link I gave you is an active instrument specific forum with a broad base of knowledge. I’m sure you’ll get some input there as well.</p>
<p>The teacher who can tweak and polish technique may not be the one who is able to introduce or repair it. I am not saying that your daughter is a beginner, but if there are significant holes in technique then maybe “name” teachers aren’t where you’re going to find the help to fill the gaps.</p>
<p>You may be looking for the teacher who always loses students to name teachers “just as the kid is getting good”. Some resent that - they are to be avoided. Others understand that the “names” can provide the polish, that their own gifts are in getting raw beginners/early technique smooth enough that it can take the polish the next step will provide.</p>
<p>The big name teachers may be content to let her slop through the big pieces because they do not know where to begin to pull apart what does work in order to fix what doesn’t. That is a skillset and a gift all by itself.</p>
<p>Haven’t used this, but here is the link to “private teacher directory” on the Juilliard website:
[The</a> Juilliard School - Career Services - Private Teacher Directory](<a href=“http://www.juilliard.edu/college/career/career_ptd.html]The”>http://www.juilliard.edu/college/career/career_ptd.html)</p>
<p>Sopranomom, your advice is helpful beyond measure! I agree that this kind of teacher holds a very special gift. The million dollar question is, how do I find these teachers? Via a friend I know of one such flute teacher – a virtually unknown “no name” grad student who has gotten countless students into big name conservatories, but, sadly, I do not know of the violin equivalent in NYC. Any hints, public or private are openly solicited!
Thanks to all!</p>
<p>EJMc, the selection process can be tedious, time consuming and often frustrating. Being in a relatively new area does not help, as you probably haven’t had much opportunity to develop a network within your daughter’s musical peer group, which is often one of the best places to start. I don’t know if these will help (as they don’t address your specific question), but you may find some general info that will help you through the process. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/507857-trying-find-new-teacher.html?highlight=teacher[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/507857-trying-find-new-teacher.html?highlight=teacher</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/390796-does-phenomenal-applied-teacher-really-trump-everything.html?highlight=teacher[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/390796-does-phenomenal-applied-teacher-really-trump-everything.html?highlight=teacher</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/391801-importance-master-teacher.html?highlight=teacher[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/391801-importance-master-teacher.html?highlight=teacher</a></p>