Michele Zimmerman

Hi! I'm a multi-instrumental performer and singer-songwriter from North Carolina with over twenty years of playing experience. I'm also a passionate music educator with five years of experience teaching one-on-one lessons to people of many ages and interests! I have an undergraduate degree in classical violin performance from UNC School of the Arts (2020), and a Master's Degree in Contemporary Musical Arts from New England Conservatory (2024), where my areas of focus were jazz improvisation, folk music, and songwriting. I've performed in music venues and festivals across North Carolina, including at Cat's Cradle, the Carolina Theatre, the Ramkat, and at Merlefest.

My first goal as a teacher is to find out what my student is excited about, what music they like to listen to, and what their goals are. I tailor my lessons to each individual student's needs, based on what instrument and style of music they're working on, how much they are willing or able to practice, and their personality and learning style. It's important to me that every lesson is both productive and fun--fun is what keeps people playing!

In general, I like to work on one song, piece, or project at a time with a student, and to use each project as a holistic lesson in musicianship, instrumental technique, music theory, and aural training. I tend to ask a lot of questions, and encourage my students to ask questions as well, because I find that most students are able to retain what they learned better if they had to do some exploring and get things wrong before being given an answer. But really, it all depends on the individual student.