After having taught violin for over 15 years and played nearly 50, it's hard to find a teacher that addresses my needs. Sami is able to hone in on exactly what would be beneficial and go slowly and patiently with me, offering creative input, specific licks, and lots of repetition to support my learning. I'm so excited to use these new skills in my playing both with my students and on stage! ”

— Kim Thal, Student

Teaching

Sami is now offering online fiddle lessons on the platform (Zoom, Skype, FaceTime) of your choice! 

Sami’s experience as a teacher is rooted in the excellent individual instruction she received from Ruthie Dornfeld and Dr. Amy Dodds, and in group workshops from world-class fiddlers like Natalie MacMaster, Darol Anger, Alasdair Fraser, Tristan and Tashina Clarridge, and Brittany Haas. Over the past eight years, Sami has taught workshops at camps and festivals across the United States, including Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, NimbleFingers Old-Time and Bluegrass Festival, Wintergrass Youth Academy, Swannanoa Old-Time Week, Berkeley Old-Time Convention, Colorado Rockies Old-Time Festival (CROMA), Big Sur Fiddle Camp, Portland Old-Time Gathering, Oly Old-Time Gathering, and JazzED Seattle.   

Sami teaches with energy, encouragement, and humor, sharing her positive attitude with her students while challenging them with material tailored to their learning edge. She has deep respect for the traditions behind the music with a particular interest in learning tunes from female and other underrepresented sources, as too few are taught in today's repertoire. Sami also loves to convey intricacies of fiddle music dialects, with a special focus on details like ornamentation, bowing, and harmonies/chords. An expert in Old-Time fiddling, Sami can teach beginning, intermediate, and advanced fiddlers of all ages in Old-Time, Cape Breton, Bluegrass, Irish, and Scottish styles.  

Interested in learning more? Contact Sami here