Hi! I'm Yuri and I'm passionate about sharing music with everyone!
First and foremost, I'm a dedicated pedagogue of violin/viola/piano. Piano was my first instrument and first love, and it's what helped me grasp solid fundamentals of music. When I was about 9 I found the violin and fell and love with its dynamic ability to express, and the rest is history. Being a string player opened up a new portal of musicality for me, and inspired me to learn more - and I picked up the viola in addition to the violin, in high school, resulting in winning competitions and accolades.
I have studied under world-renowned pedagogues at various institutions, and have attended and continue to attend teaching seminars. I have participated in Juilliard School's Sterling-Delay Seminars, and regularly attend Elizabeth Faidley of Manhattan School of Music's teaching seminars.
My musical journey has truly been a gift and I want to share this gift with as many people as possible. I love connecting with everyone, but especially young people, through music.
My teaching practice in Oakland is centered around determining individual goals and learning methods tailored to individual student's needs - on violin, viola, and piano. While my specialization is in corrective technique for both intermediate-advanced students and adult learners, I love to help little ones begin their musical journey, and I regularly and frequently work with students seeking to pass merit exams, conservatory auditions, and the like.
While the primary goal is to appreciate and enjoy music, I am by no means lax in areas like building technique, having working knowledge and ownership of music theory, and music history/context around materials that we will work on. As a full-time professional violinist and conservatory-level-trained pianist, I have expert knowledge in performance practice and am able to guide students to play in a way that is historically accurately and musically sound.
I have a background in Suzuki training, but my teaching style is a little bit more flexible and open, and the foundation of it is definitely built on equipping the student with body awareness, listening, and critical thinking.
