Ileana picked the violin when she was in kindergarten, and it still is her favorite.
As a musician, she enjoys passing her musical knowledge on to others, especially the younger generation. Every student is different, each one has a unique personality, so Ileana tries to figure out what the student likes. She believes that it is so much easier to learn if we enjoy it. There are many different facets of music: Some of her students love to just play, so they work on pieces or tunes, depending on the style. Others like to write, so part of the lesson consists of composition and music theory. That means either writing new melodies or bringing melodies the student has already composed to paper as part of learning to read. There is also the question of which style of music the student wants to learn. Ileana adjusts each lesson to the student, and tries to understand what they like, what their strengths are, to weave important technique exercises and theory into the lesson.
Ileana says: “I grew up in a musical household. My father is a guitarist, thus music was always around. My sister and I always played on various musical instruments, we had a little tape recorder we used to record what we came up with. And the music never left. I started playing professionally when I was ten, then went to college for music, and now I play in bands, record for studio sessions, play solo shows, and teach.”
Testimonials
Marian M.
“Ileana has been working with our daughter for just over a year now. She’s so talented and passionate about what she does, and it shows in our daughter. Every lesson is rich, fun, and varied. The end of year report from her orchestra teacher at school stated that [our daughter] ‘made excellent progress this year in strings. She has an excellent technical foundation on the violin which supports a more advanced musical sense.’
This is very much due to Ileana’s teaching skills, patience, commitment to providing excellent lessons as well as making them fun and enjoyable. We are so grateful to have her work with our daughter!”
Doug G.
“Ileana is an awesome person and teacher! It’s never too late to start learning. As an adult beginner, Ileana helped me with the basics, learning scales, and playing songs. She’s flexible to helping you learn in a way that works for you! She’s a Pro, yet down to earth, fund and great to learn from. Highly recommended!”
Kaitlyn C.
“Amazing Lesson!! My daughter learned so much and is so excited to start playing the violin!
Thank you Ileana!”
Franca H.
“I’ve always been impressed how Ileana is mastering violin techniques across different genres from classical to blues and country. It’s a real pleasure to learn from her. I’ve found her to be a very professional, pedagogical and punctual teacher and can highly recommend her.”
Heather K.
“Ileana is passionate about the violin and it shows through in all of her interactions with her students. My 14 year old daughter has been Ileana’s student for almost four years and Kate has excelled in violin with Ileana as her teacher. She’s always been professional, punctual, and is a very patient and generous teacher. Ileana has even helped my daughter to write her own violin music and has helped lead our four daughters in their girl band. I definitely recommend Ileana as a violin instructor.”