What are private lessons?
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Private lessons provide your student the opportunity to have individual attention on their instrument. This individual attention will allow your student to grow rapidly as a player and musician. The benefits of private lessons include supplemental one-on-one focused instruction to help students reach their full potential on their instrument; additional attention to students' individualized goals; and a competitive edge in orchestra placement, All-Region, and Solo & Ensemble each year. Private lessons improve a student's technique and allow them to learn increasingly complex music that top-level orchestras play. Students aspiring to join the Virtuosi or Philharmonic groups should seriously consider taking private lessons as the rigor of the music demands specialized attention. Students that are interested in taking private lessons but are worried about the financial commitment should reach out directly to Ms. Bell.
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Meet our Private Lessons Teachers!
Katie Farrelly
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Experience, professionalism, and results make Katie Farrelly a sought after violin teacher in the DFW area. Her students benefit from her 22 years of experience as Assistant Concertmaster of the Dallas Opera Orchestra, and they consistently place well in All Region and All State Orchestras. A specialist in audition preparation, Ms. Farrelly is able to guide students through the audition process with success, producing the Concertmaster of the Texas All State Orchestra in 2016 and the Concertmaster of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. She welcomes students of all ages and levels of experience. A member of TMEA, DMTA, and MTNA, Ms. Farrelly implements current teaching methods and materials. She teaches beginning students to read music and understand music theory along with their repertoire and instructs advanced students in methods to increase their sight reading aptitude and performance skills.
Katie Farrelly received two degrees in Music Performance from the University of North Texas, where she served as a teaching fellow during her graduate studies. She is an active performer in the DFW area and has been teaching violin for over twenty years. |
Sarah Figueroa
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Ms. Figueroa is passionate about orchestral playing and currently holds a violin position in both the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale and the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra. She additionally enjoys performing with the East Texas Symphony among several other local orchestras as a substitute musician. Occasionally she has exciting opportunities to perform on various popular artists’ visiting tours such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Ms. Figueroa also has professional international experience as a musician, performing on a 2-week orchestral tour across 13 cities throughout China in 2015, and in 2019, she taught and performed throughout the Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia H., Croatia) and Peru.
Ms. Figueroa holds a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of North Texas and a Bachelors of Music from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University. As an instructor, Ms. Figueroa is dedicated in providing an encouraging support system to both motivate and inspire students to learn to create music to the best of their abilities. She believes music lessons instill in students crucial life skills such as self-discipline, courage, and in the orchestral environment specifically, a strong sense of community with fellow peers. What students say: “Ms. Figueroa is great! She’s very kind, patient, and helpful. She makes lessons very enjoyable. She is also very flexible and is always willing to help with any class assignments.” -Shreya (class of ’21) “…Overall, private lessons helped me improve a bunch in both areas I knew I needed to do better in, and areas I didn't quite know about yet like Bowing styles. I am happy with how I've improved because of these lessons” -Madison (class of ’23) Check out her Website: https://www.sfigueroa-violin.com/ |
Ethan Rouse
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Ethan Rouse is a violist currently based in Plano, TX, where he is active as a performer and teacher. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Music, London, where he earned a Master of Performance degree as a student of Jonathan Barritt. He also holds a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of North Texas, where he studied with Susan Dubois and Daphne Gerling. He performs often with the orchestras of Plano, Richardson, and Irving, TX, among others. While in London, he performed as principal viola of the RCM Opera, Philharmonic, Conductors, and Baroque Orchestras. He also performed as co-principal of the RCM Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. Notable chamber music engagements include performances at The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Washington D.C. He is a passionate teacher, having previously held a teaching fellowship at the University of North Texas.
Currently, he maintains a private studio in Plano and Frisco, TX, and is a frequent guest clinician and sectional coach. Also active in historical performance, he performs as a baroque violist in a number of ensembles in the Dallas, TX area. Highlights in this area include a performance at St. Martin in the Fields, London, with Ensemble Sylvatica, appearances at the Boston Early Music Festival, and a concert tour of Germany and Austria with the Fantasmi Baroque Ensemble. He studied baroque viola with Cynthia Roberts, and performs on an instrument made by Gabriel Bolioli. At present, he is chair of the American Viola Society’s Youth Advisory Council. Check him out at: https://www.ethanrouse.com/ |
Christopher Phillpott
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Deemed an “exquisite” soloist and “fastidious continuo cellist” by The Dallas Morning News, Christopher Phillpott performs regularly on cello, baroque cello, and viola da gamba while maintaining a thriving studio in North Texas. He has performed with such ensembles as Lumedia Musicworks, Dallas Bach Society, Denton Bach Players, Orchestra of New Spain, Austin Baroque Orchestra, Tallahassee Bach Parley, the Early Music America Young Performer’s Festival Ensemble (Boston, MA), and for special events with the New England chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in cello performance and a master’s degree in musicology from Texas Christian University, as well as an Early Music Certificate from the Florida State University. During his graduate studies at TCU and FSU, Mr. Phillpott researched and presented extensively on the emerging French cello repertoire of the early 18th century, having earned the Michael Winesanker Musicology Grant which allowed him to travel to and consult the collections of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Other scholarly topics of interest include Frank Zappa, literary themes in the music of Schumann and Schubert, and the music of the Counter-Reformation, on which he has presented for the Society for American Music and national and regional conferences for the American Musicological Society. |
Troy Tippawang
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Troy Tippawang is a recipient of a Bachelor's and Master's in Double Bass performance from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Troy has taught privately for 8 years, and has had students participate in Texas All-Region and All-State orchestras. He has studied with Tom Lederer of the Dallas Symphony for the majority of his career, and teaches the Simandl method (with a heavy emphasis on technique). He has played in masterclasses, local symphonies, and enjoys collaborations with artists of all disciplines.
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