Her Story
About Virginia
I started my teaching career in 1993 with my first private student after graduation, and I have been teaching for about 33 years. I teach formal double bass education across all levels. I work with public school students who are trying to get into all county or all district programs, helping bass students prepare for those opportunities. I also work with high school seniors who are thinking seriously about majoring in their instrument, helping them get ready for college auditions and programs. Additionally, I get the occasional college graduate who comes to me to get what they feel like they didn't get while they were an undergraduate. My teaching philosophy centers on being able to see the student as who they really are and what they're really trying to achieve, and then tailoring their lessons toward what they want to do with it. I believe in compartmentalizing and understanding that each student is at a different stage - for example, remembering that a kid may look big but he's still just in the 8th grade. I also believe in being forthright and honest with students, not filling them full of false hope. If I feel a student is too far along and could do better with another teacher, like Paul Sharp in Winston-Salem, that's where I'll send them.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Virginia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I tell you, it's a bunch of people. It really takes a village of music teachers. Everyone from the first piano teacher I ever had, to the bass teacher in high school, to a couple of college bass professors, master class teachers, even a sight-singing teacher while I was at School of the Arts. A lot of people have chimed in, and I've been able to take this advice collectively and be able to just kind of separate and apply where useful, really. It's one thing watching it, like, either on a screen or looking at the pictures in the book. Something totally different when a teacher, you know, who is experienced in whatever it is you're trying to learn can actually make it come to life. That's what made things stick for me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Think outside the box of what you were taught to teach in public schools. Be a very creative thinker.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Just be forthright. Don't fill your students full of false hope, you know, so that they'll be disappointed and say, hey, you said this would happen, and it didn't. Just be honest. Also, be honest about yourself, about what you're capable of doing. If I feel a student is too far along, and I think they could do better with, say, Paul Sharp in Winston-Salem, that's where I'm gonna send them. Being transparent is key. Sometimes the students might not be in your expertise, and they might need a different instructor, but you have to be transparent with the families and with the students.
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