This is a guest post by Nancy Friedman, an AMN volunteer.
We were thrilled when Garrett Fischbach posted his teaching services to our online Listings. Not only does Garrett have 25 years’ experience with three of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States, but he also has a true passion for teaching adult amateurs. Furloughed along with the entire Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus since March 31, he spoke to us from his home in New York about his teaching and performing philosophy.
What can students expect from your lessons?
I teach enthusiastic intermediate and advanced violin and viola students of all ages who want to improve their skills, either to perform with friends or community orchestras or simply to get more pleasure out of playing.
As the song goes, “If you become a teacher/By your pupils you’ll be taught.” What is something you’ve learned from a student?
I recently went through old files and came across a folder of essays written by my undergraduate Violin Performance students at Mannes School of Music [in New York] in 2010. I had asked the students to write a paragraph or two about their short- and long-term career goals, and one student wrote these very inspiring words: “The other possibility that I have been contemplating is to just live simply, and have the violin and music in general, as a gift to be cherished, rather than an obligation to be mastered.” A decade on, I couldn’t help wonder what this person was up to. I looked him up, and it turns out he has been doing exactly what he said in that sentence he wrote. He is in fact still playing the violin, but very much on his own terms in his own original way, while making a living doing a variety of other fascinating things. His example gives me much inspiration during these uncertain times.
We love the idea of music as “a gift to be cherished.” Can you tell us more?
In the MET Orchestra, we are of course always listening to great singers—both on and off the stage. The English mezzo Dame Janet Baker once gave an interview in which she said something about this idea of “gift.” She acknowledges that she is “gifted,” and says a friend told her that this gift “is hers to enjoy.” We are not all quite as gifted as Janet Baker, but even amateurs have a gift, and that is the love for the music they play. (Listen to the interview with Janet Baker.)
What is a common challenge amateur musicians face?
A lot of the time amateurs don’t realize just how much they can do. All they need is a little bit of prompting from someone who has the keys and opens the door to a lot of technical challenges that they thought were beyond their reach and also a lot of ways of thinking about the music. That’s what professionals can share with amateurs.
Learn more about Garrett Fischbach’s teaching services on our Listings page.
One reply on “Meet Garrett Fischbach, violin and viola teacher”
I am a Canadian retiree, and I serious about learning the violin.
I took regular violin lessons with several wonderful violin teachers throughout my life in China and in Canada since my early teens . Since the The Pandemic brought me to weekly online lessons with Prof. Fischbach, and that has lasted for one and a half years now. One often asked me how such online violin learning would work. Honestly it has been the most joyful and productive experience of my violin journey.
What Prof. Fischbach has stood out among all the others with whom I studied is that, in addition to his extraordinary expertise in the field, he genuinely believes in his students. Being a most patient, insightful and resourceful teacher, he always has ‘tricks’ to quickly fix issues when they pop up, often before I was aware of them.
Learning the most efficient way to practice and preparing for performance are some of the biggest challenges for me. I don’t always have the right tools or even the proper language to express the issues I am struggling with. Being an extremely kind and respectful teacher, Prof. Fischbach always spots my issues and provides quick solutions to fix them, usually before I start to ask. He taught me how to tackle the hardest (my dream) pieces that I didn’t think I would ever be able to play. By teaching me how to practice efficiently, he made me feel that there seem to be no violin dream is too big for me.
Always supportive, encouraging and challenging, lessons with Prof. Fischbach are the moments I deeply cherish. Before each lesson reaches to an end I would already look forward to the next one.
Studying with Prof. Fischbach, I’ve learned not only to be a better violinist, a better musician, and to enjoy playing, but also, by his ow example, I’ve learned what it takes to become a finer person while pursuing this ever so challenging instrument at a time and in the world that is full of noise and distractions.