Long, long ago, when Mary Ellen was a little girl, she started playing the violin. She took lessons at MacPhail Center for Music from Miss Malmo. Her dad and sister also started taking lessons at the same time, but she is the only one currently playing the violin. When she was in middle school, she started taking from John Sambuco who played with the Minnesota Orchestra. It was at this time that she relearned left hand technique to improve her posture. During high school she was a member of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony as there was no orchestra at her high school. As an adult, she studied with Harry Nordstrom who is a retired violin instructor at Carelton College.
In addition to these primary instructors (and others) she has attended numerous seminars and workshops on violin pedagogy and instruction. Another big influence on her teaching technique are the violin and viola teachers who instructed her daughter, Sarah. Mary Ellen is a member of MNSOTA [the Minnesota chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA)] and ASTA.
Mary Ellen has a regular day job as the Licensed School Nurse for the Hastings School District. Outside of these hours she has a private studio where she gives lessons to violin and viola students. She directs the Hastings Middle School Honors Orchestra which meets once a week before school. Also, she is one of the founders of the Hastings Summer String Academy - a week long chamber group string camp for youth.
Delving into the world of improvisation, Mary Ellen performs regularly with her church's contemporary band on electric (acoustic) violin. In 2013, she attended a jazz improvisation workshop at McNally Smith School of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also performs in string ensembles for special occasions and has participated in the local community theater summer musicals (Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat). She plays in the recently formed Ponticelli String Chamber Ensemble.
Favorite Quotes about music......
"A mistake isn't bad, a mistake gives us information" Mimi Zweig
"Amateurs practice until they play it right: professionals practice until they can't play it wrong."
"We live in a generous, freedom-loving country, an we have the opportunity to develop a personal gift, the love of music, and we should be thankful. But there's a responsibility that comes with it, the responsibility to develop and share it. It is our gift - let's make it our gift to others." Paula Robison as quoted by Barry Green in The Mastery of Music.
Delving into the world of improvisation, Mary Ellen performs regularly with her church's contemporary band on electric (acoustic) violin. In 2013, she attended a jazz improvisation workshop at McNally Smith School of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also performs in string ensembles for special occasions and has participated in the local community theater summer musicals (Oklahoma, The Sound of Music, and Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat). She plays in the recently formed Ponticelli String Chamber Ensemble.
Favorite Quotes about music......
"A mistake isn't bad, a mistake gives us information" Mimi Zweig
"Amateurs practice until they play it right: professionals practice until they can't play it wrong."
"We live in a generous, freedom-loving country, an we have the opportunity to develop a personal gift, the love of music, and we should be thankful. But there's a responsibility that comes with it, the responsibility to develop and share it. It is our gift - let's make it our gift to others." Paula Robison as quoted by Barry Green in The Mastery of Music.
