Sam Araya
About
Sam (he/him) is an American-Swiss cellist of Chilean heritage (él habla español). He regularly plays, practices, performs, teaches, arranges, and composes Traditional Children’s Songs, Folk Songs, Western Classical Music, and Popular Music.
I believe that anyone who wants to learn to make music can, so private lessons focus on the student’s needs and are customized for each individual. Regular practice is essential to learning a difficult instrument like cello, so I regularly talk about practice habits in lessons in an open and guilt-free way.
Artist Diploma, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Certificate in Suzuki Pedagogy, University of Denver - Master of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder - Bachelor of Music, University of California at Santa Cruz
My teaching pulls greatly from the philosophies of the Suzuki and Kodály methods of music instruction. Both philosophies are based on the fundamental principle that music is a language and should be taught as one. By bringing both methods together, my lessons are a combination of instrument playing and music understanding.
In comparison to a traditional Suzuki approach, I introduce music reading early on and I do not use the Suzuki Method materials. Most of the materials that I use in lessons are ones I have created, combining Traditional Children’s Songs used in Kodály lessons with music that I have written, as well as the music students want to play in any style (Western Classical Music, Folk Music, Rock, Pop, Jazz, etc.).
By bringing these great methods together, I aim to fill the gaps present in each to help my students have a comprehensive music education.