Anastasia is now offering online lessons.
Anastasia Solberg, violist, completed her graduate studies in performance at the Hochsule der Kunste, Berlin, with Prof. Bruno Giuranna. She is founder and director of Ensemble Solange, a mixed chamber ensemble that performed primarily in Europe. Ensemble Solange focused on composers whose works were rarely performed. The ensemble was also involved in numerous radio productions.
Anastasia has been the violist for the American Festival of Microtonal Music since 1996 and has many world premiers to her credit, including works by: Victoria Bond, Anton Rovner, Violetta Dinescu, and Luc Marcel. Anastasia most recently played all seven viola parts on a recently released CD, “Universe Symphony”, encompassing the works of Charles Ives. She is currently working on two recordings featuring the complete chamber works of Rebecca Clarke and the 17 poems by LI Po set for intoned voice and adapted viola, with her own transcription and adaptation. The CD “Violist” features performances with the AFMM from the last 10 years and was released in December of 2009.
After teaching as an adjunct professor of violin and viola at various institutions of higher learning (NYU, Temple University) and running her own private studio, Anastasia decided that she could best assist those around her by opening a music school. In 2001, she founded the Music Institute of Sullivan and Ulster Counties (MISU).
The school, as a 501c3 non-profit organization, hopes to offer tuition free lessons for all in the near future. The school has grown and now fosters two community string orchestras, an adult learning program, a preparatory program for college and conservatory bound musicians, and a flourishing Suzuki program. MISU also offers private instruction in piano, voice, violin and viola. Anastasia has also been collaborating with two local community colleges with performances and instruction.
Teaching Philosophy
The prime advantage of my many-faceted education is the exposure to numerous forms of pedagogy. Through observation and much trial and error I have developed my own distinct method of teaching. I do not limit myself to traditional scale systems, etudes and schools of technique, but rather use them as a means to an end. I want to awake the mind of the student, always finding and looking for new ways in which to apply traditional methods. I want to teach the students how to teach themselves, to allow them to become independent, so that they can continue to educate themselves throughout their lives.
Another advantage of my education is that I have a diverse knowledge of techniques as well as methods to apply them. Through many different teachers, methods and the interaction with other students, especially in masterclass situations, I have been able to observe how and in what manner the different methods work. I have been teaching and raising children long enough myself to prove or disprove these points. The most important point is that one not only learns how to move one’s fingers and why but also how one should practice.
Through this experience, I was able to build up my own systematic method which is not based on using the usual scale, etude, and exercise books but uses them as a support to help students get their brains moving. This method is used to the advantage of the students so that they will be able, by the end of their study periods, to pursue their music and continue to move forward throughout life by being their own teacher.
Aside from teaching the usual repertoire for solo viola/viola and piano, I also use the lesser known works that I have performed and found to be worthwhile. From a musical point of view, this is very helpful in teaching analysis. Since my performance interest is in contemporary music, I have performed much of the solo literature for the viola composed in the last fifty years and therefore students who have reached that level of performance ability could benefit from this knowledge. This builds the student’s repertoire enormously (which is still a necessity at this time) and therefore expands the mind’s capacity for learning. I find it extremely important that a student’s repertoire does not include the same 5-10 pieces from the time that they have been pursuing the instrument seriously. This is detrimental to creative thinking in students as well as to their musicianship. Student instruction should also embrace chamber music, especially with different combinations of instruments such as voice and/or winds. The skills that one acquires through these interchanges are irreplaceable.
All students who have the will to succeed – whether it be shown through hard work or unconsciously through inherent talent – have the ability, through proper instruction and organized, structured practice, to have a career.
–Contact her at anastasiasolberg@gmail.com–