My daughter has been seeing Nancy for 4 years now. It has been the longest time my daughter has…read morebeen involved with an activity or had a teacher/ mentor, outside of the family! My daughter can be passionate about wanting to try something new, but then will lose interest quickly.
Not the case with learning to play the violin with Nancy! Nancy was actually my daughter's third violin teacher, so yes, we do have other experiences to compare Nancy to, as far as being by far the best! Nancy has been so perfect for my daughter, finding the perfect balance between being fun and easy-going, (keeping my daughter's attention), yet at the same time, keeping her focused and challenged. And Nancy is so patient! My daughter has grown so much, both as a musician, and developing human, under Nancy's mentorship. We were so lucky to find her!
I also loved that Nancy has String Flings, periodic "jam sessions" for the kids, which really developed a peer group and musical community for the kids. The shared love and support has been invaluable. We have also gotten a lot out of her field trips, labs, and other extras she always puts together to push her students a little further, while still having fun and making it interesting.
Now my daughter is in the Pasadena Youth Orchestra, and Nancy guided her all the way through the audition process. She read over our emails and applications with all the requirements, and completely adapted her lessons around getting my daughter ready for the audition. She knows my daughter's strengths, but also knows her weaknesses - so knew where to push her. I don't think we could have gone through the process without her! Nancy's guidance gave her the confidence to show up, and try her best.
Nancy has been so much more than just our "violin teacher," she has been a huge influence on my daughter just being a mentor/ role model/ advisor. If my daughter continues to play violin, I'm sure there will be many more violin teachers, music teachers, etc., but there will never be another Nancy! Anything else that progresses in my daughter's musical future, will have been built on the amazing foundation that Nancy has laid out for her.