Teaching Credentials
A graduate of The Boston Conservatory, Mariya has a Master's Degree in performance and 10+ years of experience teaching violin and viola to students of various ages and levels. As an educator, Mariya has served on the faculty of several prestigious music festivals and institutions in the Northwest, including the Evergreen Music Festival, Bellevue Summer String Academy, Maple Valley Youth Symphony, Music Conservatory of Sandpoint, and Academia Cesaratti in Durango, Mexico. She is also employed by both the Edmonds School District and Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestras as a string coach.
Currently, she has a busy studio of string students ages 4-50+. Her students regularly win auditions for leadership positions and solos in Seattle-area school orchestras and youth symphonies.
About Mariya
Outside of teaching, Mariya has busy career as a performance violinist and violist. She most recently served as associate principal violist of the Helena Symphony Orchestra and has an active life as a professional symphony musician in Washington, Massachusetts, and Montana.
In 2022, she served as Associate Principal with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra on their partnership performance with the Bavarian Philharmonic in Munich, Germany.
She has also embarked on several recital tours as a soloist throughout Washington State and runs a project that brings classical music to incarcerated audiences in Washington facilities. As a professional event soloist and social media musician, she has worked in the past with several prominent businesses, such as Bloodworks Northwest and Dick's Drive In.
To raise funds for Ukraine, she has recently collaborated as solo violinist with composer Dmytro Gordon on his single "To Ukraine With Hope," available on Spotify.
Online, Mariya runs several social media accounts that document her work as a freelance musician and has multiple promotional partnerships in addition to having been featured in publications including Strings Magazine and Boston Voyager. In 2020, she published a book, "Embracing Fear: How to Become a Confident Musician," which is available on Amazon.
Currently, she has a busy studio of string students ages 4-50+. Her students regularly win auditions for leadership positions and solos in Seattle-area school orchestras and youth symphonies.
About Mariya
Outside of teaching, Mariya has busy career as a performance violinist and violist. She most recently served as associate principal violist of the Helena Symphony Orchestra and has an active life as a professional symphony musician in Washington, Massachusetts, and Montana.
In 2022, she served as Associate Principal with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra on their partnership performance with the Bavarian Philharmonic in Munich, Germany.
She has also embarked on several recital tours as a soloist throughout Washington State and runs a project that brings classical music to incarcerated audiences in Washington facilities. As a professional event soloist and social media musician, she has worked in the past with several prominent businesses, such as Bloodworks Northwest and Dick's Drive In.
To raise funds for Ukraine, she has recently collaborated as solo violinist with composer Dmytro Gordon on his single "To Ukraine With Hope," available on Spotify.
Online, Mariya runs several social media accounts that document her work as a freelance musician and has multiple promotional partnerships in addition to having been featured in publications including Strings Magazine and Boston Voyager. In 2020, she published a book, "Embracing Fear: How to Become a Confident Musician," which is available on Amazon.
Teaching Philosophy
Regardless of what careers my students ultimately pursue, I train each one as if they are preparing to be a professional musician. This includes challenging technical study, serious repertoire, and an expectation of commitment to practice. I rigorously prepare my students for auditions, and strongly encourage them to partake in youth symphonies, summer orchestral institutes, competitions, and WMEA Solo-Ensemble contests.
With every student, my goal is to achieve technical and musical excellence while maintaining a positive learning environment. I believe that challenges and high expectations can be met through hard work, and that there is no universal method that works for everyone. Therefore, I approach each student individually, keeping in mind their unique learning style. I believe that lessons should be an environment for growing, challenging oneself, and developing a sense of discipline. However, a positive, encouraging environment is equally crucial as I also believe that high expectations and excellence can be attained with minimal stress and frustration. Music lessons should not be a cause for fear or anxiety.
Pedagogy
I draw from several schools in my teaching approach, but I as my pedagogy instructors in Boston and Seattle were both pupils of Mimi Zweig, I predominantly adhere to the approach of Zweig String Pedagogy. This school also draws principles from the Paul Rolland, Dorothy DeLay and Suzuki methods. The underlying concept of this approach is the development of musicality and solid detail-oriented technique with a focus on the body's comfort and natural movement.
I draw from standard method books including Kreutzer, Wohlfahrt, Mazas, and Flesch, and design an individualized curriculum for every student.
Further details of my typical method books and curriculum can be found on my Studio Expectations page.
With every student, my goal is to achieve technical and musical excellence while maintaining a positive learning environment. I believe that challenges and high expectations can be met through hard work, and that there is no universal method that works for everyone. Therefore, I approach each student individually, keeping in mind their unique learning style. I believe that lessons should be an environment for growing, challenging oneself, and developing a sense of discipline. However, a positive, encouraging environment is equally crucial as I also believe that high expectations and excellence can be attained with minimal stress and frustration. Music lessons should not be a cause for fear or anxiety.
Pedagogy
I draw from several schools in my teaching approach, but I as my pedagogy instructors in Boston and Seattle were both pupils of Mimi Zweig, I predominantly adhere to the approach of Zweig String Pedagogy. This school also draws principles from the Paul Rolland, Dorothy DeLay and Suzuki methods. The underlying concept of this approach is the development of musicality and solid detail-oriented technique with a focus on the body's comfort and natural movement.
I draw from standard method books including Kreutzer, Wohlfahrt, Mazas, and Flesch, and design an individualized curriculum for every student.
Further details of my typical method books and curriculum can be found on my Studio Expectations page.
