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Bonnie Gartley was born and raised in Atlanta, GA where she started playing the violin in the third grade at E. Rivers Elementary School. Since then she has earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Florida State University and a Masters in Music specializing in Violin Pedagogy and Performance. In addition to her degrees she has also done short-term teacher training at Suzuki Institutes as well as various Young Artist Workshops. She is trained to teach all ten Suzuki Books with Every Child Can and Books 1 and 2 registered with the SAA, as well as the standard violin repertoire. She has taught both private lessons and group classes since 2001.
Bonnie also has a love of performing in addition to her love of teaching and regularly performs with groups throughout the state of Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, and has also had the chance to perform on stage at Chicago’s Symphony Hall.
Bonnie teaches using a combination of two methods: the Suzuki method and Paul Rolland’s method. Both methods break down violin technique into small steps to be mastered one at a time. Rolland’s method also stresses the importance of tension free playing or having what we love to call "marsh mellow" soft muscles. Because many Suzuki students are relatively young when they start private lessons we delay note reading for a while and focus on developing their ear by lots of singing and listening. Group classes are also a very important part of the method because of the emphasis on repetition, so we play a lot of games, review songs, and play some extra songs that help to review old skills. They are a great way to get to work with a teacher twice a week which helps reinforce the skills learned in private lessons and the students have a great time playing with other kids their age. |
Kristeen Sorrells has been a successful public school orchestra teacher for twelve years in the Sandy Springs area, at Ridgeview Charter School, Riverwood High School, Heards Ferry and High Point Elementary Schools. Ms. Sorrells received a B.A. in Music from the University of Georgia in 1978 and completed a M.M. in Viola Performance and Music Therapy in 1984. She continued post-graduate viola studies with Lynn Ramsey of the Cleveland Orchestra. In addition to her teaching, Ms. Sorrells has an extensive background as a music therapist, and has performed professionally with the Atlanta Ballet and Atlanta Opera Orchestras for the past 20 years. Hired provisionally to teach strings for Fulton County Schools in 1998, she completed her Teacher Certification at Georgia State University in 2001. Ms. Sorrells lends her expertise this year to the LYRA Academy Beginning Strings Program at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. |
Violinist Jane McRae has had a rich musical life through her chamber and orchestral performances as well as in teaching. An Atlanta native, Ms. McRae began playing the violin at age 7 and continued on to perform with the Atlanta Youth Symphony for four years under the direction of Jere Flint. A graduate of New England Conservatory of Music, she played under the baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski and Simon Rattle as principal second violin of the New England Conservatory Symphony Orchestra. Ms. McRae has been privileged to work with great musicians to include Eugene Lehner, Seymour Lipkin and Roman Totenburg. Her most recent collaboration with conductor Edoardo Muller at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz Austria inspired how she communicates musical ideas, which she incorporates into performing and teaching. Ms. McRae has performed with orchestras around the country including the New World Symphony Orchestra, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Pops Orchestra.
Ms. McRae is currently a dedicated strings teacher at the Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School. Her previous teaching experience allowed her to develop unique music programs in the Massachusetts school systems, including Norwood Junior High School, the Brookline Adult Center for Education, and the Brookline Public Schools. Ms. McRae lends her expertise this year to the LYRA Academy Beginning Strings Program at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. |
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