LisaJo Borchers

1 Year Teaching on Lessonface
Violin
Lesson Fees
$25.00 / 30 Minutes

About

With over 40 years of teaching violin, viola and cello, LisaJo provides a thorough, meaningful experience tailored to each of her students. Learning to play the violin from LisaJo will be different from other teachers. She actively identifies your unique learning style and personality, ensuring you'll get the most out of your lessons. She draws from a variety of styles such as those which highlight the mental and social aspects of playing the violin. By studying with LisaJo Borchers, you may become inspired by the power of music and how it aligns with your mind, body and spirit.
 
LisaJo's life-long performance experience has been playing with various Orchestra's throughout the Midwest and California as she was always looking for new literature experience.   Here are some of the orchestras she has played with:

 

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE

Section Violin:

  • Fox Valley Symphony, Aurora IL 1992-2001
  • Kishwaukee Symphony, DeKalb IL1987
  • Kankakee Symphony, Kankakee IL 1987
  • Wheaton Symphony, Wheaton IL 1978-1988. 1988 Concertmaster
  • DuPage Symphony, Glen Ellyn IL 1981-1982
  • Napa Valley Symphony, Napa CA 1982-1985
  • North Bay Philharmonic, Napa CA 1982-1985
  • Vallejo Symphony, Vallejo CA 1982
  • Contra Costa County Symphony, Martinez CA 1982
  • Danville Symphony, Danville IL 1978-1981
  • Terre Haute Symphony, Terre Haute IN 1978-1981
  • Eastern Illinois University Symphony, Charleston IL 1978-1981
  • Silver Lake College Orchestra, Manitowoc WI 1977
  • Sheboygan Symphony, Sheboygan WI 1977

LisaJo  has been a private teacher since high school.  During her high school years, she formed and conducted a traveling string ensemble often playing her own arrangements which she tailored to the needs of her students.   Throughout the years many of her students took First ratings in the State competitions.  She has always been the sole proprietor of her own studio collaborating with:

1-The Academy of Music in Vallejo CA  1982-1984
2-Ellman's Music of Naperville Il, 1986-1992 

3 Her home studio in Aurora Il, 1992-2001 

4- Musical Expressions of Naperville Il, 2002-2007

In winter 2003  she conducted and taught in Naperville, Illinois in their orchestral program.  She managed 125 students at five grade schools, teaching group  lessons in violin, viola, cello, and bass. 

In 2006 she worked in West Chicago, Illinois for the final months of the school year.  She conducted their spring concerts and implemented their entire summer strings program.

In 2015 she worked as the the Orchestral director in Sheboygan Area school district preparing three middle school orchestras for their spring concerts and their state contests. 

In 2020, during COVID, she began teaching with TakeLessons online teaching studio which has since closed.  There she had students that spanned the entire country and the globe.  She found a new energy of innovation to create materials that could be used online.  LisaJo really loves teaching online.

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Style

Steeped with knowledge of music history, theory and composition, LisaJo has a Bachelor of Music Education from Eastern Illinois University and extensive orchestral-performance experience as a violinist and conductor. Drawing from more than 40 years of private studio experience, she has developed her abilities as a diagnostician of obstacles in the musical learning process--both cognitive and physical. LisaJo teaches ages 12 and up and has become a recognized teacher of the adult beginner and adult restart. She takes a very individualized approach with her students, recognizing technical and emotional components to each individual's learning process.
 
Her Technique
LisaJo has studied with teachers from various violin lineages. Her technique is based on the teachings of Carl Flesch and Ivan Galamian.
 
Additionally LisaJo studied with Kato Havas, whose New Approach to String Teaching has been acknowledged by the American String Teachers Association as one of the three main string methods in the world. "The New Approach" is not a method in the ordinary sense of the word. It is a highly organized system which prevents and eliminates tensions and anxieties. It highlights the physical, mental and social aspects of performance with special reference to violin playing (although the principles apply equally to other instruments). It unifies mind, body and spirit, and coordinates the natural balances of the body into an effortless and powerful whole." Havas' focus on communication between mind and body in the music-making process has been incorporated deeply in LisaJo's teaching style. LisaJo is one of the few teachers in the United States educated in the New Approach.

Curriculum

LisaJo often creates custom materials online if needed and tailors the materials to the needs of each student.

Student Texts might include:

New Directions for Strings

Strictly Strings

Introducing the Postions

Preparing for Kreutzer.

Credentials & Affiliations

Eastern Illinois University 1981 Bachelor of Music Education

 

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