On May 6th, 2013 I very nervously taught my first fiddle lesson to my friend Robin. And now, after over 3 years and 50 students, I am taking a hiatus of undetermined length to embark on a new touring adventure with my husband Paul. I am sure I’ll be back to teaching someday (because I love it), but for now life has laid out a different path that includes performance and public speaking and living more or less on the road. 🙂 This transition is exciting but extremely bittersweet.
As I teach my last week of lessons, the reality of leaving my students is beginning to sink in… Next week I’ll be packing up the studio and moving on to another musical journey. It’s been so hard to say goodbye to the children and adults who have become regular fixtures in my life.
Teaching music was the first job that felt completely “right” to me, Connecting with my students and watching them learn and improve has been extremely rewarding. It was both challenging and excititng to explain musical concepts and encourage growth while still fostering a joy for music in my students. Teaching is a skill that would take many lifetimes to perfect, but these last three years felt like a good start!
My students are complete joys. Over the years my students and their families have become friends. They have given me the priceless gifts of laughter and kindness and inspiration. I am so grateful to have been involved in their violin journeys and I am excited to see what they do in the future. I will definitely miss them, although I am determined to keep in touch!
To my students: I love each of you very much and I am so grateful for the honor of working with you over the last three years. Thank you for being you – the world is a better place because of it! I will forever cherish our time together and I hope we will be able to stay connected in new ways as we write the next chapters of our lives. <3
Love,
Gaelynn Lea