Violin, Viola & Cello
Alessandra Barrett
Violin & Viola
Click Here to Watch Alessandra Perform: Cappricio fur Viola, Vieuxtemps
Click Here to Watch Alessandra Perform: Sonata in F Major,
Brahms
For the last eighteen years, since the age of four, music has been an integral part of Alessandra’s being. Everything she does is musically inclined—walking to the rhythm of her surroundings, thinking in melodies and passing on her heartfelt knowledge of music to others. All of these factors worked in harmony to eventually earn music degree from the California Institute of the Arts in 2012.
Performing gives her a sense of enjoyment, accomplishment and a purpose in life. Inspiring others to share her love for music making has become another driving force. She has been teaching and coaching music students for four years. Patience and repetition are the two key components in her teaching process, as well as positive reinforcement and constructive criticism. Alessandra believes that slow, thorough teaching is how a music student of any age will learn.
Alessandra considers it to be a privilege to nurture people musically rather than just strictly a job. Her main goal is to see to it that her students progress rapidly, and acquire true enjoyment in learning.
Alessandra is available for private lessons on Thursdays and Fridays.
Taryn Lounsbury
Classical, Pop and Jazz Violin
At a young age she began to play piano and violin, training in both the classical and pop genres. It wasn’t until college, while studying at the University of South Carolina under Bert Ligon, that she discovered and devled headfirst into jazz. The new style quickly became apparent in her songwriting. After graduating college, Taryn relocated to Brooklyn, where she remained an active member of the music scene. She formed her own band, Taryn Lounsbury Live, and played violin for The Anthony Mulcahy Band, where she opened for acts such as Glen Hansard and Mark Geary. In 2012, Taryn was a featured artist at the Gealach Gorm Songwriter Festival in Kill, Ireland. Taryn taught at her private music studio, “Taryn’s Melodies,” in Park Slope, Brooklyn, while working for Forbes Music Company in NY as a piano, violin, guitar, and vocal instructor. Her debut album, Too Happy For Love, released in February, exhibits her diverse and unique musical background, as well as her natural grasp of language and storytelling.
“I have been an educator and administrator for quite sometime, and am aware of the qualities that separate mediocre from good, and good from great. Taryn is unquestionably great. I am constantly evaluating teaching talent in private instruction, group instruction, and in public/ private school classrooms. It is not often that I find a teacher with Taryn’s ability, passion, personality, and commitment.” -Forbes Music Company, NY
Ali Lucero
Violin
Having taken her first lesson at the age of 9, Ali Lucero has now been playing the violin for nearly thirteen years and credits a film called, “Music of the Heart”, for inspiring her to learn the instrument. She knows first hand the significant influence a teacher has on their students and the importance of having an encouraging teacher. She has fond memories of her first teacher from who she took lessons for eight years, as always being very patient and kind. Ali considers herself to share those same qualities in teaching. She deeply enjoys sharing her passion for music with others and her goal is to inspire students to in turn spread the gift of music. Ali understands that every student is an individual so she works hard to fit their unique learning style.
As far as her own performance experience, Ali has been involved in orchestra for eight years at Victor Valley College and received her Associates Degree in Fine Arts in June 2011. She is currently working on her B.A. in Music Education at California State University Northridge and performs with a Chamber Ensemble and the CSUN Symphony.
Ali is available for private violin lessons on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and by appointment.
Brandon Encinas
Violin & Viola
Click here to watch Brandon perform!
Born and raised in central California, Brandon Encinas began playing the violin at the age of 10. He joined the Kings County Symphony when he was 14, and the Tulare County Symphony at the age of 16, playing both violin and viola.
Brandon spent 2 years at the University of Redlands as a music education major, teaching violin both privately and in the classroom. In 2011 he was the associate concertmaster for the University of Redlands Orchestra. Since 2010, Brandon has spent his summers touring to over 30 U.S. states and to the countries of Haiti, Colombia, and Portugal, as a violinist and music director with the Celebrant Singers.
After spending time on the road as a musician, Brandon has come to believe that music has a certain way of communicating with people in ways that words can’t. He finds enjoyment not only in performing, but also teaching, and being able to lead his students to find their own passion for music as well. Brandon now continues his education as a violin performance major at California State University Northridge studying under Michael Ferril.
Monica Crusoe
Violin, Viola, Cello & Stand-Up Bass
Click here to see an Interview with Monica!
Monica Crusoe is an active performing musician and educator with over 10 years of string teaching experience privately and in the classroom. Many of her string students throughout the years have participated in and placed well at state solo and ensemble festivals, as well as accepted into top youth orchestras including the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra. In addition, her school orchestras have consistently earned superior ratings at district orchestra festivals year after year.
As a performer, Ms. Crusoe freelances as an orchestral and chamber musician on both violin and viola. She currently is a violinist with the San Fernando Valley Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Pacific Symphony (Orange County, CA), Cascade Symphony Orchestra (Edmonds, WA), Thalia Symphony Orchestra (orchestra-in-residence at Seattle Pacific University), Marrowstone Music Festival Orchestra (as an artist-in-residence coach/faculty member), and has performed chamber music at numerous functions including the1997 Seattle Seahawks fundraising gala in Seattle, WA. Ms. Crusoe has also given several recitals on both violin and viola, and was a prize winner at the Langston Hughes Talent Show in 1998.
A past student of several renowned Seattle-area string teachers, she has been featured at major venues including Benaroya Hall, and has performed alongside orchestral musicians from major symphony orchestras at summer music festivals. She holds a B.A. degree in music from Seattle Pacific University, and a K-12 teacher’s certificate in music from the same institution.
Monica is Available for Private Lessons Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays or by Appointment.