Sandra Layman, violinist and violist, relishes the joys and challenges of teaching violin, viola, and musicianship (including ear training, sight singing, and basic theory) to students aged from five (or four, in some cases) through senior adult. She warmly encourages students to cultivate expressive and joyful music-making, good practice habits and skills, fine instrumental technique, and love and understanding of music.

 

One of her special interests is in teaching and encouraging adult beginners, so please don't be shy about inquiring about lessons if you've always longed to learn music but thought it was too late.

 

Sandra studied violin with Werner Lywen (then concertmaster, Washington DC National Symphony), Paul Zukofsky (at the New England Conservatory), Martin Friedmann (longtime member, Seattle Symphony), Stanley Ritchie (then first violinist with the Philadelphia String Quartet; now early music specialist at Indiana University), and with Petre Lefterescu, Octavian Ratiu, and George Manoliu in Bucharest, Romania.

 

She studied music as an undergraduate at New England Conservatory, Oberlin, and American University, and also earned a BA in history from the University of Pittsburgh.

 

While continuing to perform classical violin and viola, she earned an international reputation for her passionate and soulful performances of klezmer, Balkan (particularly Romanian and Greek), and Near Eastern music.

 

She pursued graduate studies in ethnomusicology at the University of Washington (on a FLAS fellowship) and later studied and researched music in Romania on IREX and Fulbright fellowships. She appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Romania.

 

Her CD, "Little Blackbird: Klezmer, Romanian, Greek, Turkish, and Hungarian Violin Music," has been acclaimed internationally. You can purchase and download your own 74-minute-long fix of unusual traditional violin music by contacting Sandra through this website.

 

She is a member of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), Seattle Music Teachers Association (SMTA), Washington State Music Teachers Association (WSMTA), and Washington State String Teachers Association (WASTA).

 

She's currently interviewing prospective new students and welcomes your inquiry!

 

(Please click on the "contact" link above.)