About Tina

I started playing violin when I was three years old with the Suzuki Method through a program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My musical road has taken me many places I never expected, from performing on large stages in Japan and Taiwan to playing fiddle for Wisconsin barn weddings…and to playing the individual entrance music for the world championship dairy cows (story for another time…) I currently perform with the Yahara String Quartet, Annie and the Oakies, and for church music.

I’m still learning new styles and growing as a musician. My goal is to help all of my students to meet their goals-and ones they didn’t realize they have-in their playing. Through music lessons, we learn discipline, sensitivity, and so many other skills! But also-we have fun. I aim to build a community of musicians while also helping each student reach their individualized goals.

My background is in teaching-as a public school special education teacher, a University instructor in Curriculum and Instruction, and many years of violin teaching. I work to combine the skills I’ve gained in these fields to provide fun and engaging-but most of all personal-instruction. I have undergraduate degrees in Music Performance and Special Education and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction, all from UW-Madison.

I combine classical and fiddle methods in my teaching. If you’re looking for a purely Suzuki approach, I highly recommend Suzuki Strings of Madison!