Bio

Hi.

           For those who don't know me, I'm Neil Bakshi, a Suzuki violin teacher. I teach students of all ages--currently from 4 to adult, although I sometimes start at 3--at a college community program, a community music school, and in my home studio. I've been teaching full-time since January of 2001.

            I have a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conferred in December of 2000. In addition, I've taken SAA-registered teacher-training courses up to the level of Suzuki Book 4, and I've attended numerous workshops, institutes, and master classes.

            The instruction I've received on the violin has been primarily from Suzuki teachers. I started in Columbus, IN with a string of teachers who passed through the local music program. I studied with Stacey Shuck in Indianapolis for a number of years, then studied with Linda Fiore in Pennsylvania for six years. During the final years of high school, I took occasional lessons from Brian Lewis in New York City, who was a performing artist and assistant to Dorothy DeLay at the Juilliard School. At Chapel Hill, I studied with Dr. Richard Luby, a student of Ivan Galamian and a specialist in Baroque period performance. In the UNC music department, which also included Brent Wissick, a renowned viola da gamba specialist, and John Covach, guitarist and popular music theorist, I was able to take an innovative course in rock music theory for music majors, learn how to play La Folia on the gamba, and work on Wieniawski all at the same time! During the summers at home, I took lessons from Lee Snyder, a particularly amazing teacher in the Philadelphia area.

            I also participated in chamber music programs during summers, including the Ithaca Chamber Music Institute, Kinhaven Music School in Vermont, and the Cours Internationale de Musique in Morges, Switzerland.

            My Suzuki instruction was broadened considerably by attendance at the summer institutes in Louisville, Kingston, Wheaton College, and Ithaca College (5 summers), including more that I may have forgotten. Since I began teaching, I've also taken five teacher-training courses, four at Ithaca and one at Steven's Point, Wisconsin. Either as a student or as a teacher trainee, I've come into contact with many of the top-notch Suzuki violin teachers in the country.

             I've also had the honor of working alongside very skilled and wonderful colleagues. At Westminster Conservatory, I had the privilege of working with Satoko Robert, a great colleague and mentor. I now work at Westminster with Beth Guerriero and Aimee Morrill, two very experienced and ambitious young teachers, as well as Chika Mimura, one of Dr. Suzuki's last students, who has a wonderful way of working with young people. At the Community Music School, I teach with Belmary Lorcas, who is a very valuable colleague and one of the most positive and encouraging people I know. When I taught at Moravian College, I had the honor of working alongside Nancy Terlaak Poot. My students have benefited because of the help I've received from these experienced teachers.

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