Karin H. TakeLessons Instructor Music, Violin, Viola Houston, TX

Karin started her musical journey at age 9 with the viola.  She graduated high school from the Interlochen Arts Academy in 2000 and went on to obtain a Bachelor’s of Music studying with Jerzy Kosmala from Louisiana State University.  She then got her Master’s Degree from the Peabody Institute, where she studied with Victoria Chiang and Steven Wyrczynski.  She has attended such summer festivals as Eastern Music Festival, Henry Mancini Institute and Aspen Music Festival.  She has had chamber music master classes with members of the Ying, American, Cavani, Uptown, Brentano and Mendelssohn quartets and with Courtney Orlando of Alarm Will Sound.  She has also studied with Roberto Diaz and currently studies on occasion with Rita Porfiris of the Houston Symphony.  Karin has been recruited as a substitute player for the Austin Lyric Opera, Woodlands Symphony, and Sacramento Symphony.  Currently Karin teaches private violin and viola lessons to middle and high school students and plays with the Ixia Quartet.

It is my top priority in a lesson for the student to learn something and to always progress in some way.  My teaching style is friendly and laid back when introducing a new piece or technique, but generally becomes more strict the longer the student has had the material.  I teach both technical skills and musicality in lessons and sometimes a bit of music theory if I feel that it will benefit the student.  I want to make lessons fun for the student while at the same time teaching them valuable skills so that he/she may prosper on his/her instrument.  I teach scales and arpeggios, double stops, etudes from Campagnoli, Kreutzer, and Sevcik, shifting technique, practice techniques, how to go about musical phrasing, and much more!  After 3-6 months I would like for the student to have a solid foundation with his/her scales and arpeggios, to know the note names in first position and what fingers to use, and to be introduced to shifting to third position.

I try to teach basic theory in my lessons as well as a little music history if it applies to the pieces being learned by the student.

Interlochen Arts Academy - music performance - 1999-2000
Louisiana State University - Music performance - 2000-2004
Peabody Institute - Music performance - 2004-2006

Music, Violin, Viola