Virginia Thorpe

At the young age of 16, Virginia unwittingly launched her career in music by acquiring her first piano students.  It was such a positive experience that she followed her new passion into the field of music education, earning both her bachelor's and master's degrees in music education (with a focus on the Kodaly Methodology) from West Chester University in West Chester, PA.  She has taught classroom music in private and public school settings, led a variety of choirs, orchestras, and ensembles, worked as a vocal coach and choral director at a children's theater, directed musicals, served as a church worship leader, and organized monthly "Young Musicians Concerts" at a local retirement home.  Virginia is the mother of 5 young musicians, ages 8 through 16.  They enjoy performing together for weddings and community events. While the majority of Virginia's students have traditionally been children, her studio has more recently shifted to be comprised of a much higher ratio of adults as people are recognizing the need for self-care, seeking meaningful activities that enrich their lives, and pursuing previously unfulfilled desires to play an instrument.  Her students have ranged in age from 3 to 50-something and she believes that no one is too old to learn to play an instrument!  Piano is Virginia's primary instrument, but she has taught a variety of other instruments including violin, cello, bass, guitar, ukulele, mandolin, voice, and flute.  In addition to teaching private lessons, she teaches group classes for guitar and ukulele.  

My favorite aspect of teaching is building a relationship with each of my students.  I recognize that music lessons are about so much more than music!  I try to be mindful of the bigger picture as I relate to each student, especially children; I'm teaching body awareness, fine motor skills, logic, time-management, problem solving, and character development.  Music provides opportunities to learn and practice skills that overflow into every area of life.  In my mind, music is a tool to teach these larger lessons.   As a mother of 5, I understand the challenges that arise when children are learning to play an instrument; learning styles vary from student to student, practice routines can be difficult to establish and maintain, and motivation is often a challenge.  My goal is to intrinsically motivate my students by choosing pieces that they enjoy, keeping lessons interesting and challenging, providing tools to help my students succeed in their practice time throughout the week, and providing opportunities for them to record their progress and perform for others.  Every student is different, so I don't use the same approach for everyone.  I do use method books for most elementary-aged students because I have found that they offer a comprehensive approach to learning an instrument.  However, I love to supplement the "lesson book" with a variety of pieces that interest the student.  I prefer to have each student work on an additional project such as accompanying for school chorus, figuring out by ear a song from their favorite movie, using chord charts to play a worship song from church, or composing a song of their own.  My philosophy is that while it's great to be able to play music that other people have created, it's better to be able to create your own!  Music literacy is important and foundational, but I view it as a means, not an end.  My "niche" is teaching people who already play an instrument how to improvise and/or play from chord charts so they can create their own music and play along with others in a band or worship team setting.