Lesson Feesfrom $26.00 / 30 Minutes
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About
Hello! My name is Diana, I am a professional flutist and teaching kids music is my passion! I am constantly refining my teaching skills by attending teacher training courses and masterclasses, as well as keeping updated on all the new teaching techniques, because I would like to be able to offer the best possible learning experience to all of the students I teach. As a teacher I am very patient, kind and approachable. I strive to make my flute lessons not only very productive , but also to ensure that the child is having a positive experience. Helping your child learn effectively, while also enjoying themselves is my top priority, which is why I also make sure to provide lesson notes, as well as resources for home practice, such as pre-recorded audios and videos of the students' repertoire.
I aim to create a positive, and encouraging atmosphere in lessons, consider the student's learning style, as well as their musical interests. Though most of the repertoire studied in lessons is selected by me, to best fit the student's level, I always give the student several options of musical pieces to choose from, as well as encourage them to bring music which they are interested in playing. I want my students to learn from me all the necessary skills for being a good musician, but to also develop a love of music, and to enjoy the process.
A little bit about my own experience as a flutist:
I have played flute since the age of 10, and went on to study Flute performance in college: I attended the "Saint-Petersburg Music College named after N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov" in Russia. It is one of the best music colleges in the country. I have been lucky enough to have amazing teachers, while studying there: Natalya Zaznobina--an "Honorary worker in the arts of the Russian Federation", Dr. Alexander Kiskachi--a wonderful flute professor, and expert in child music education, and Olesya Tertychnaya--the first flute of the Saint Petersburg Philarmonic Orchestra. They have taught me a great deal about not only being a great performer, but also on being a good teacher, and I channel the knowledge I gained there into my lessons.
During my studies in Russia, I have also extensively attended masterclasses with such "stars" of the flute-world as Emanuel Pahud, James Galway, Denis Bouriakov. I have also performed with various orchestras, chamber ensembles and as a soloist. I have been performing with "Apollo Arts", a California based non-profit organization for years, and even performed as Principal Chair Flute with my college orchestra in a performance at the world-famous Mariinsky Theater.
******feel free to send me a message if you don't see a time on my calendar that works for you. I might be able to tweak my availability a bit and find a time-slot that fits your schedule! :-)
Testimonials from current and former students:
Jasper
“Diana was a super kind and friendly teacher. My son is 9 years old and he really enjoyed his first lesson. My son didn't play for 6 months plus and he wanted to get back into it. She asked many questions beforehand, in order to get him on the correct level.“
James
“Diana really helped me with tone and with correcting my finger tension. Starting flute again after 30 years, I remembered the theory but Diana showed me how to play more smoothly, connect the notes with better phrasing and understand the musicality of the whole piece.
She gives useful exercises for embouchure to get a much better sound and helps one enjoy working with the details that hold one back.
Diana showed me what to appreciate in recordings of masters like Galway and Pahud, so I enjoy the exercises that will improve in my playing.
I have also seen her coach groups of intermediate players to blend together for ensemble pieces.
Definitely I would recommend Diana as being a patient and pleasant teacher to work with.“
Susan
“Diana is first rate and helps me a lot each lesson. There is nothing like personal, Individual instruction, especially for embouchure difficulties. She has access to practice books to down load that are excellent.
I believe in slow but steady progress, guided by the system and curriculum which I create individually for each of my students. All of the lessons which I teach are not spontaneous, but carefully crafted and planned out by me, according to what the student most needs to work on at the moment, and structured around what will be most beneficial for the student.
I build my lessons on a ladder system: ensuring that the first level is completely understood and absorbed by the student, before moving on to the next level of difficulty, constantly deepening and widening the knowledge and skills of the previous levels, as we move up.
Besides learning the basic technical and musical skills needed for playing their instrument, I make sure to teach my students about music theory, music history, music form and structure, spending some time in each lesson to offer them some knowledge in these areas.
I believe that positive reinforcement should be at the core of all musical education, and that is something that I practice daily in my teaching career.
For flute lessons:
The materials used will largely depend on the student, but, generally, with beginners I use either Blocki Flute Method Book 1, Flute 101, or A tune a day for flute book 1 (the book used will depend on the student, and how they learn--after a few lessons I will decide which one will work best for them). Often I will use a combination of 2 books. There will also be supplementary material, which I will send out prior to the lesson, which the student can then print out or have on a computer screen.
For intermediate students I use Flute 102, A tune a day for flute Book 2 (or a combination of both) + supplementary materials, such as etudes and excerpts from standard flute repertoire.
For advanced students, we will probably not use any method book, but we will use a combination of flute repertoire, etudes, and studies, which will be selected by me.
***I encourage students to bring music to lessons that they have a personal interest in working on--whether it be classical, or contemporary music, music from movies , etc. I am always happy to support the students' musical interests. However, this will be supplementary material, and will not replace the usual work with a method book and repertoire selected by me.
For recorder lessons:
I like to use "Enjoy your recorder " from the Trapp Family Singers, but there will also be a lot of supplementary material, which I will provide, as, though this book is wonderful, it tends to move a little too quickly.
It is best if the student purchases the books, once I decide which ones we will be using.