Introduction: Do you wish you could give your child a gift that they could keep and cherish for the rest of their lives? Music lessons ARE such a gift! I realize the long-lasting positive impact that music can have on a person’s life which is why I strive to make my flute lessons as positive an experience for children as possible. I am constantly refining my teaching skills by regularly attending teacher training courses, masterclasses with renowned flute pedagogues, and performers, as well as staying updated on all the new teaching techniques. Some recent courses that I have attended to improve my teaching have been the "Flute Roots" pedagogy course with renowned flute educator Dr. Katherine Emeneth, as well as the "Music minus Pain" course for teachers with Body-mapping expert and flute teacher Dr. Lea Pearson. When you enroll your child in lessons with me, I can guarantee that making sure that your child not only makes progress in their playing, but also enjoys the process will be my top priority. Not only do I strive to provide the best lesson experience possible, but I will go above and beyond to help your child learn, by providing detailed lesson notes and assignments after every lesson, recording videos of their repertoire/exercises for them to listen to throughout the week, as well as letting the student send me little audio recordings of their playing mid-week, and giving some feedback, so that they can feel supported and completely on track in between their weekly lessons.
In my flute lessons I aim for helping the student to achieve good technique, and learn to play with a beautiful tone, and to make steady progress in learning the flute, but I also aim for making sure that the student is enjoying their lesson experience: I 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 FLUTE PLAYER:
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 non-profit organization in Northern California for years, and even performed as Principal Chair Flute with my college orchestra in a performance at the world-famous Mariinsky Theater.
At the moment I work as a private flute teacher and freelance flutist. I perform regularly with Apollo Arts, as well as performing weekly with a local Church.
TEACHING STYLE:
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.
TESTIMONIALS:
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.
******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! :-)
