I have been in contact with next year's 4th grade. Some of the information I shared with them may be useful to students in other grades.
Lessons
Parents and students have had good experiences with a number of teachers on the island, and I recommend all of them. The words that follow do not intend to prioritize one teacher above others. I encourage you to find the best fit for your student and you.
Teo Benson will be offering semi-private violin lessons to 4th graders during the year. Contact Teo at the above phone or email to discuss details. Free lessons are available through a Dreyfus foundation grant for families with financial need (as of right now, you would self-select). If fewer 4th graders have lessons with Teo, he would offer private lessons instead. To give 4th grade students a strong start, the free lessons will be held for those students first. Other free or low-price options may be available for 5th to 8th grade students, including my sliding scale experiment (see below).
Other available strings teachers include Kat Fritz, Kimmer Morris, Elizabeth Lovelace, Linda Good, and others of Island Strings http://www.islandstrings.com/
In order to make affordable lessons more available, I am offering an experiment this summer. On Fridays, at my cottage near Scatchet Head, I will offer half hour lessons on a sliding scale from $1 to $25 per half hour. If you can afford $25 per lesson, I encourage you to explore other teachers as well; I have no interest in forcing down the prices of other teachers; rather, I think our strings program at school will be stronger if every student takes a lesson (even if for some of the students in older grades it is only occasionally). Contact me at wdolde@gmail.com with interest; I will try to make an easy on-line sign-up available. If this proves viable, I will try weekend morning lessons on a sliding scale during the school year. I plan to make a way that payment can be anonymous (money put in a basket I do not check until multiple lessons) so you can feel free to pay what works for you.
Acquiring an Instrument for Next Year
Our school collection of violins, normally reserved for 4th grade students, is in need of a vacation. I encourage families to procure a high-quality rental from Joe's Island Music, Island Strings, Click Music, or elsewhere. This link from Island Strings provides a list of options http://www.islandstrings.com/
As I discussed in the 4th grade parent meeting, Shar Music from Michigan (an established company founded by violin professors from the University of Michigan) provides high-quality, inexpensive violins for purchase ($139) or rental ($9.99 a month to rent after a $26 initial deposit). Half of the rental money goes toward purchase; you can upgrade to finer violins and larger sizes. The same luthiers who look over the expensive violins ensure the quality of student violins, making this a reliable choice for student violins. Please visit http://www.sharmusic.com/
I was pleased with an upright bass my family purchased for me from Allegro Violins in Portland (greatviolins.com). His cello and viola prices are particularly competitive (beginner violas in the $300 range, cellos in the $400 range).
Music Book
Next year's 4th grade will use Strictly Strings Book 1. As we discussed, it works best if a student owns her or his book and it is a clean copy. Please write a check to WIWS or provide $7 to me (which I will turn in); thank you to parents who pay for next year in advance. This will allow me to order the books early and have them for you this summer if you wish.
Next year's 5th grade will begin with Strictly Strings Book 2. The price will also be $7. Thanks to families for paying in advance. It is possible we will move quickly enough to purchase another book for $7 later in the year.
Next year's 6th to 8th grade will use More Strings Extraordinaire and Jazz Philharmonic. The price for the 2 books will be $14. Again, thanks to families that pay in advance.
With warmth and light,
William Geoffrey Dolde
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