Kristin Garson
Biographical Notes
Ms. Garson received her Bachelor's Degree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and Master's Degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Both of these are widely recognized as among the five best music schools in the nation. Ms. Garson has performed widely with major symphony orchestras, and has taught for over 15 years.
Ms. Garson started piano at age eight and violin at age ten. She attended and received a full scholarship to the National Academy of the Arts in Champaign, Il, for her high school education.
Her piano lineage traces back to Rudolph Ganz, concert pianist. Ms. Garson’s teacher, Arne Sorensen, studied extensively with Mr. Ganz, who also was the original conductor of the St. Louis Symphony and introduced Ravel and Debussy to this country. She also studied piano with Clara Rolland who studied at the Liszt Academy in Hungary.
Ms. Garson uses traditional methods to teach the piano, including a program called “Keyboard Gymnastics,” which helps the student become a more well-rounded musician, not just a pianist. Currently she is further updating her piano teaching skills by entering into a 3-year program with N. Jane Tan. It is a curriculum called “Masterful Teaching.” The goal is to get the student to play at a pretty advanced level within five years. N. Jane Tan studied with Leon Fleischer, one of America’s greatest concert pianists and conductors living today.
Her violin lineage traces back to Ivan Galamian, who taught many great violin concert artists including Itzhak Perlman. Ms. Garson studied violin with well-known pedagogue Paul Rolland, Donald Weilerstein of the former Cleveland Quartet, and Burton Kaplan of the Manhattan School. Ms Garson has done many solo and orchestral performances throughout the Midwest and East Coast. She also combines Suzuki and traditional teaching methods on the violin.
Ms. Garson’s recordings include an album of original jazz/fusion music called ”Music Under the Influence.” She currently performs in a Latin group, RIO. For both endeavors, she uses a 5-string violin.
Ms. Garson has been actively teaching violin and piano since 1993.