CELLO LESSONS
For many levels and ages with Nisha Calkins
Teaching Philosophy: I am interested in people being free to express, enjoy, and share themselves on the cello while developing a beautiful tone and life long love of playing music. Each lesson is tailored to the individual student, their needs, where they’re at, what they’re dealing with and care about.
I will be gently rigorous when it comes to an individual developing and expanding the fundamentals of playing cello, their body mechanics, and having the cello sing. In my lessons I also incorporate ear training and development, music theory, improvisation, and music appreciation. My promise is that my students through discovery, joy, and compassion develop the confidence and mastery to play any music that lights them up or that they may need to learn whether it’s for education, competitions, professional purposes and goals, therapy, healing and, or for fun and enjoyment!
My Background:
My musical background is diverse and grounded in classical training.
At the age of 10 I first began playing the cello. Since I was one year old I have been developing my musical ear and finger dexterity through singing, playing the piano and various percussive, wind and brass instruments. After the first nine months of learning to play the cello by the age of eleven I quit and never thought I would play again. To my surprise at the beginning of 6th grade I was attending a new school that had an orchestra and I was called to play the cello again. Later on that year I began private cello lessons and improvising with my mom on piano. I took cello lessons all through middle and high school, and beyond during the year I lived abroad in Frankfurt, Germany 2001-02. There, I realized music was the one area I wanted to focus on and study in college so I moved back home and began studying music and cello first with Lisa Truelove at Southern Oregon Universitya, and then saw that I was, indeed, really serious about cello and music and transferred to the University of Oregon in 2003 where I studied cello with cello professor, Stephen Pologe until 2007. In 2008 I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in Music. Before graduating in 2006 I became one of the founding members of Kef, a prominent East European/Balkan Music Band that tours in the Northwest each year. We released our first album in 2009 and began a brass band in 2012 in which I also play a Euphonium (brass instrument). In addition to having a background in western classical music, I studied and played Javanese and Balinese Gamelan (Indonesian percussive ensemble) from 2002-20010, travelling to Bali to study gamelan in the summer of 2008 following my graduation from college.
I first began teaching cello in 2011 and ever since I’ve continued to discover my love of teaching and experiencing the joy and satisfaction of seeing people develop confidence and their self expression on the cello.
STUDIO POLICIES
Lesson Rates: Tuition is due the last lesson of each month for the following month’s lessons.
Rates for Students I travel to:
● $35.00/30 Minute Lesson ($140/month) $40.00/30 Min. Lesson ($160/month)
● $45.00/45 Minute Lesson ($180/month) $50.00/45 Min. Lesson ($200/month)
● $50.00/60 Minute Lesson ($200/month) $60.00/60 Min. Lesson ($220/month)
Online Lesson Rates:
$30/30 Minutes
$40/45 Minutes
$50/60 Minutes
Make Up Lessons:
If available time permits missed lessons will be rescheduled under the following circumstances:
At least a 24 hour notice has been given for a missed lesson, illness, or family emergency.
Termination of Lessons: Must give a one month’s notice, lessons attended or not.
Materials Needed:
Instrument & Bow
Spiral Notebook/Practice Planner
Tuner/Metronome
Cello Rosin
Pencil
Folder for loose music, etc.
Cloth (for cleaning cello) Various Cello/Music Book(s)
*A note about development and learning to play the cello: I can only deliver and fulfill on my promise as a teacher what is possible for a student when a student commits to, and with focused attention and intention regularly practices*
AGREEMENT: “I agree to the studio policies.” Date
Student Signature ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parent/Guardian Signature ----------------------------------------------------------------------------