Sam H. — Cello Teacher — The Annex, Toronto

Sam Harrison has been teaching cello for over ten years and enjoys working with students of ages and levels. She has volunteered with programs such as the Laurier String Academy and OrKidstra (Ottawa) and excels at setting up beginners. Ms. Harrison holds a Master's in Music from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Music from Queen's University. Under the mentorship of the Penderecki String Quartet, she completed a Chamber Music Diploma at Wilfrid Laurier University where she developed her passion for string quartet playing. Sam loves inspiring students to learn how to express themselves through music through low-pressure, engaging lessons!

As your cello teacher, my primary goal is to guide you through the foundations of playing and offer effective practice tips and routines. In addition to building your technique, I aim to provide you with a musically engaging experience that is personalized to your learning style and inspires you to develop your creativity through music. NEW: I also teach beginner piano, up to RCM Level 2! Happy to get you started with a strong musical foundation. My values: **Excellence:** I’ll keep you accountable and provide structured practice routines that are sustainable for your schedule. **Adaptability:** lessons are catered to your individual needs, not based on one particular method. Want to learn how to produce an amazing sound? No idea how to read music? We start from where your experience level is at today. **Communication:** lessons are a judgement-free zone. I value open communication and offer support outside the lesson. Want to learn something that we haven’t covered yet? Just shoot me a message and we’ll work on it next lesson. What you'll learn: **Technique:** build your foundation and learn how to physically produce sound on the cello with ease. I will provide scales, studies and technical exercises to boost your practice every week. **Repertoire:** learn pieces chosen for your level, create goals for what you’ve always wanted to perform (Bach Cello Suites, anyone?). **Theory:** learn how to read music in addition to understanding rhythm, dynamics, and phrasing in order to better understand the foundation of music. **Musicality:** my favourite thing about teaching cello is inspiring students to find their own voice through music. In every lesson we’ll explore musical interpretation and how to bring this out in your playing in way that is true to you!