Teaching

Laena Batchelder is a violin and viola teacher in the Boulder/Denver metro area. She teaches students of any level and all ages privately at her home in Broomfield, online over Zoom, or at students' houses in the area. She graduated with a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance at the University of Colorado Boulder. She has experience with orchestral and solo performing, but she loves chamber music and teaching most. Both of these pursuits highlight the collaborative aspect of music-making which she hopes her students will grow to love as much as she does.

Laena believes classical music should break out of constraining traditions and canons, so she teaches using concepts from many methods and styles. For beginning and intermediate students, she primarily assigns Suzuki repertoire but supplements with Music by Black Composers by Rachel Barton Pine, the Barbara Barber method books, popular music she arranges, and other pedagogical materials. She guides advanced students to choose repertoire both within and outside of the traditional classical canon.

Rates per week
30 minutes - $35.00
45 minutes - $52.50
60 minutes - $70.00

Laena is trained in the Suzuki Method through Book 2. While she draws on many methods and her own experience in her teaching, many foundations of the Suzuki Method are important to her. Some of these include strong parental involvement, creating a positive home learning environment, emphasis on listening, often learning pieces by ear, and use of repetition and review.

Suzuki Association of the Americas Profile

Laena has taught private violin and viola lessons in a variety of settings from a public middle school to various community music programs in both the Dallas/Fort Worth and Boulder metro areas. Her students have performed in recitals, won awards at Solo and Ensemble competitions, and participated in local youth ensembles. Laena's teaching draws on her Suzuki background as well as a variety of other methods and philosophies, emphasizing the joy of music.

Current Student Resources

Student Opportunities in the Boulder/Denver metro area

Local and online music retailers/luthiers

Supplies and rentals
sharmusic.com – large online store for string music, supplies, rentals
swstrings.com – online store for supplies, rentals
musicarts.com – large online and chain store for supplies, rentals
solvistaviolins.com – rental shop in Lafayette
hbwoodsongs.com – local music shop in Boulder

Luthiers for professional instruments, repairs, and bow rehairs
eduardmillerviolins.com – excellent luthier very nearby in Broomfield
ormanbows.com – bow maker and rehairs in Denver
schererviolins.com – luthier and rehairs in Louisville
robertsonviolins.com – large violin shop (rentals and purchase) in Albuquerque, NM

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Current Student Resources

​Student Opportunities in the Boulder/Denver metro area

Local and online music retailers/luthiers

Student Opportunities in the Boulder/Denver metro area