Philosophy

Teaching to me means giving my students the knowledge and skills to help themselves get better each day. My end goal is for my students to become well rounded musicians and to take their knowledge from lesson and performance experiences through life.

My past teachers have included  Donald Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, Li Lin, David Kim, Merry Peckham Ian Swensen, Frank Huang Alexander Velinzon, Ani Kavafian, Jorga Fleezanis, Hankus Netsky, Erin Keefe, Kim Kashkashian.
I have been coached playing in chamber music groups by Merry Peckham, Astrid Shween, Boris Berman, The (original) Cleveland Quartet and Borromeo Quartet, Raphael Merlin- Quattro Ebene, the Juilliard String Quartet and the Emerson Quartet.

I bring my experiences of studying with some of the best teachers to pass this knowledge and love of music to my students.

Because no two students are alike, I strive to use a wide variety of teaching approaches to teach my students. These include aural, verbal and visual techniques to effectively help each student.

The majority of improvement comes from the student’s own dedication and practice habits. Through these focuses, I hope to give my students the knowledge and skill they need to teach themselves, and to develop a lifelong love for music.

[He] has made a huge amount of progress under your tutelage (just recently he was assigned the first chair of the second violins in his orchestra), and as importantly, has developed enough self-motivation that I no longer need to monitor his practicing.  Now, if only he put in the same energy at school - he's doing well but doesn't have the same passion! - Parent of a student

She [Ilana] is a great colleague, an inspirational musician and an idealist who is always well prepared and really loves music. -Colleague

Lesson Policy

Private Lessons

• Lessons will be 60 min in length and once a week.  If you wish for longer or shorter lessons, these will be adjusted on a case by case basis. (Rates will be adjusted accordingly).

Make up lessons

• If you need to cancel a lesson, please do so at least 48 hours before the scheduled lesson time. If you fail to do this, you will still be charged for the missed lesson.

•  In regards to illness, please call as soon as possible to try to reschedule or cancel.

• If you cancel or miss a lesson without notice, you will still be charged for the lesson.