Every month, we like to spotlight one of our incredible Elemental Music teachers. Some of them have been teaching with us for close to a decade while others might be in their first year of working for our organization, but there is one thing that all of our teachers have in common: their dedication to the young musicians in our programs.
This month, we are featuring Jordan Warmath. Jordan has taught for Encore and the Bergmann Program for a number of years. She is also coaching two groups for our brand new Chamber Music Institute! Read on to learn how Jordan got started playing music, why she is inspired to teach, her advice for young musicians, and more!
Elemental Music: How long have you been teaching for Elemental Music?
Jordan Warmath: I started teaching for Elemental Music in 2017, about 6 months after I finished my Doctorate.
EM: How did you get started in music?
JW: My mother kept her old High School violin in my parents bedroom and I remember getting it out and plucking it and loving it. At the age of 6 my mother gave into my pleas for lessons and signed me up to play the violin with a great Suzuki teacher. There was music theory, group class, recitals, Suzuki camps, and, of course, private lessons complete with stickers for playing well. I loved it. When I was 12 I switched to the viola after a potential new teacher told me he thought my personality was better suited to the viola - I had no idea what he meant and was a bit offended. However, I tried it and he was right. I really liked the violin, but the viola was AWESOME.
EM: Like many of our teachers, you're a professional musician as well as a teacher. What inspired you to include music education as part of your career rather than only performance?
JW: Music brought me an incredible sense of accomplishment as a child, particularly when I was struggling academically in school. Learning to read was really hard, but reading music felt fun and easy. To me it was, "put your finger in the right place, then move your bow, and VOILA beauty!" Not complicated--math on the other hand, complicated. I want to give that sense of accomplishment and joy to as many people as I can. Playing music isn't in fact simple, but the joy of success and learning never goes away and I love participating in that.
EM: What is one of your proudest moments as a teacher?
JW: I have had many students over the years and no singular moment sticks out. Instead, I have lots of little moments of pride all the time. Everytime a student is nervous before a performance and does it anyways – proud. When a student asks if they can do something again because they didn't like it – proud. When a student tells me that they felt good about how they played and that the performance was fun – proud. When they tell me they practiced a lot this week – proud (though this is rarer than I'd like)! Essentially it boils down to, did they experience joy? If yes, then I feel so proud. If they felt accomplished and played incredibly well, that is peak pride for me.
EM: What is one of your favorite musical memories?
JW: One of my favorite musical memories is from 2017 when I played for a live show of the Moth Podcast. The production team asked me to play a couple of short snippets of music interspersed in the story telling and I had a blast. I played a pizzicato piece during which an elderly couple got up and started dancing a tango. Later, when I played Paganini's La Campanella in the cheesiest way possible (sorry Paganini), the audience cheered so loudly that I wondered if I should have played it again? Experiencing joy on stage, particularly when playing alone to a large crowd, can be hard. That day, it wasn't.
EM: If you could give our students one piece of advice, musical or otherwise, what would it be?
JW: My advice is simple: Hard work pays off. Not good at something? Practice it. Ultimately you will be better. It is literally my favorite thing about music. Many things in life don't have such a direct feedback loop and it is so refreshing to immediately see, hear, and feel the fruits of working hard. And if practicing isn't making it better, work hard by asking for someone else's advice or help. Hard. Work. Pays. Off.