About the Studio
Located in Albuquerque, The Well-Balanced Violin Studio provides an exceptional musical education for children ages 0-18 through the Suzuki Method. The studio's mission is to develop each student’s highest potential of instrumental playing, musicianship, and character. Every child can play the violin and cultivate a life-long love of music. The Well-Balanced Violin Studio has a national reputation as a program known for quality and excellence.
Why Suzuki?
The Suzuki Method is a natural and step by step approach to music education. The method was developed more than fifty years ago by Japanese violinist and philosopher, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, after he realized that children all over the world learned to speak their native language from their mothers with ease. This ordinary process occurs thousands of times throughout the world every minute, and demonstrates the extraordinary learning potential in all children. From his discoveries, Dr. Suzuki developed the mother-tongue approach to teaching the violin, based on the way children learn their native language from their mother.
From his discovery that all children have the same potential to learn their native language, Dr. Suzuki had another revelation that talent and ability was not a gift at birth. By observing children learning to speak from their environment, Dr. Suzuki discovered that every child possesses the potential to learn every detail and nuance of their local dialect. This shows that talent and ability can be learned and trained through their environment. From his discoveries Dr. Suzuki called his method Talent Education, believing that talent was no accident, but learned and trained.
In the Suzuki Method, character development of the child is equally important to learning about music and playing an instrument. Dr. Suzuki's dual purpose was to develop noble human beings and provide talent education, so that students can apply the concepts from the Suzuki Method to all learning.
About the Teacher
Jessica Retana is a Suzuki Violin Teacher and Suzuki Early Childhood Music Educator who teaches music to children from birth. She offers an exceptional musical education for children through expert instruction and a variety of musical opportunities. Most recently, Jessica was awarded the Suzuki Association of Americas Certificate of Achievement, an award given to teachers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to lifelong learning and excellence in their teaching.
Jessica received her Bachelor of Music in Classical Violin Performance from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. She studied with Elisabeth Small, former Associate Concertmaster of the Atlanta Symphony and pupil of Dorothy DeLay, as well as Alison Gooding Hoffman, First Violinist of the Nashville Symphony and founding member of the Grammy nominated Alias Chamber Ensemble.
After her studies at Belmont, Jessica received her Masters of Music in Violin Performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX where she studied with Diane Kitzman, Principal First Violinist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Jessica studies violin pedagogy from her principal mentor Charles Krigbaum, as well as additional Suzuki teacher training from Daina Volodka Staggs, Edward Kreitman, Ann Montzka-Smelser, and Teri Einfeldt. She has also received training in Suzuki Early Childhood Education with Lynn McCall and Wan Tsai Chen.
Jessica is currently Vice President of the New Mexico Chapter of the American String Teachers Association and actively performs with many ensembles in New Mexico and Southern Colorado including the New Mexico Philharmonic, Santa Fe Symphony, San Juan Symphony, and the Giovanni String Quartet.
Suzuki Association of the Americas
Certificate of Achievement Recipient
Suzuki Early Childhood Education
The Suzuki Early Childhood Education (SECE) program is a music and movement class for children ages 0-4 with a parent or guardian, and expecting mothers in their third trimester.
The SECE program nurtures the child’s musical development from the very beginning. In the class, we sing traditional children’s folk songs, incorporate movements and musical instruments, and work on important musical skills, such as making a steady beat, producing beautiful tone, and treating the instruments with care. However through this class, children also learn other important skills, such as the ability to focus, fine motor skills, emotional and social skills, character development, and readiness for preschool.
One of the key concepts of the program is that the ability of a child develops early. The founder of the Suzuki Method, Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, believed that ability develops from age zero, meaning it is never too early to begin nurturing the ability of a child. In support of Dr. Suzuki’s claims, scientific studies show that the development of a child begins in utero, and learning begins prior to birth. Many of the children who begin SECE in utero or at birth can develop perfect or nearly perfect pitch by the end of their 4 years of SECE classes.
Through this program, children are able to socialize with others, have fun with music, and develop a memorable and nurturing bond with their parents. The Suzuki Early Childhood Education program is an incredible opportunity to develop ability in your child from the earliest possible moments.
“Can you conceive of thinking, ‘It is best to teach my child how to speak when he is five years old. Therefore he should not hear anyone speak until then.’ ... If a person actually did that to a child, it would be far too late for learning the language. ”
Suzuki Violin Program
The Suzuki Violin Program is a music education curriculum for children ages 4 and up. The program includes a weekly private lesson and group lesson to learn the violin in a nurturing and positive environment.
Parents take an active role in the program. In the Suzuki Approach, parent participation is integral for the student to be successful. At least one parent (the same parent each time) is expected to be present for lessons and at home to help their child as a practice partner. Parents do not need to know anything about music or the violin prior to the first lesson. Come with the willingness to learn and the time to develop a daily practicing and listening routine, and the teacher will give you all the tools you need. The secret to success is the partnership inside the Suzuki Triangle: the Parent-Teacher-Child.
Private Lessons are held weekly with your teacher. This is where the core of our time is spent together, building skills and technique to play the violin. Private lessons also incorporate other activities appropriate for your child’s musical development, and families learn how to practice at home with individualized weekly assignments.
Home Practice occurs daily, providing a wonderful opportunity for quality time and connecting with your child. Studying music instills confidence and discipline while providing your child with an expressive outlet. It also reveals one of life’s most important and treasured lessons: progress and success occur as the result of the quality of one’s own effort. A Suzuki family has a challenging and exciting job, and the parent and student are never alone — the teacher is always there to provide guidance, expertise, and support through all stages of development.
Group Lessons are an integral part of the musical education. This is where the magic happens! Playing with others is not only one of the most fun parts of music, but it is also very motivating! Students come to group lessons to see their friends and learn together. Parents also enjoy coming to group class to connect with fellow Suzuki parents and be part of a community. In group lessons, we work on how to be a good team member, how to watch and follow a leader, how to play with other musicians, how to rehearse and perform with others, and more. It’s a chance to practice old skills and strengthen new ones. The benefits are endless!
In addition to learning violin and musicianship skills, the Suzuki Violin Program uses music as a tool to teach children perseverance, self esteem, time management, concentration, responsibility, leadership, cooperation, creativity, patience, sensitivity, attention to detail, motor skills, character development, and more. These skills are nurtured to prepare students for success in their academic studies and beyond. Students in the Suzuki Violin Program have shown significant success in academic studies, and many students go on to study at prestigious universities and Ivy-League schools. In addition to their academic achievements, all of the students who graduate from the Suzuki Violin Program enjoy music for life.
Through this program, children are able to develop a very high level of skill on the violin, socialize with others, have fun with music, and develop a memorable and nurturing bond with their parents. This program is an incredible opportunity to cultivate a life long love of music and beautiful character in your child.
“Describing the power of music, Dr. Suzuki stated that music sustains our life forces by “purifying us, elevating us, and offering us supreme joy and emotional depth”. Studying music provides inspiration and enrichment of the human experience, while also creating individuals of fine character.”
“Thank goodness we found Jessica. Jessica is so patient, she stays positive and has a million creative ways to keep our daughter engaged and learning. Jessica took the time to figure out what works best for our daughter’s learning style, it wasn’t just one way fits all, or just do it my way. We all love being at The Well Balanced Studio and can’t wait for the wonderful years of violin to come!”
“What I love about Mrs. Jessica the most is that she is fun, and I like the way she teaches me so I can understand and not get bored!”
“Mrs. Jessica is a fantastic teacher and violinist! Any student will be lucky to study at The Well-Balanced Violin Studio.”
“Jessica is a fantastic violinist and teacher! She is very committed to her student’s education and development, and the love she puts into her teaching is inspiring to all those around her. She is dedicated to her own education to give her absolute best to her students. I highly recommend Jessica to anyone looking for excellent violin instruction from one of the best educators I know!”
“I have been to nearly every baby music class in the area and nothing comes close to the quality of Jessica’s Suzuki Music and Movement class. My 3 month old was completely entranced the entire class, watching the teachers and reacting to the music. It was even his nap time and I was waiting for a meltdown, but it never came. The curriculum is well balanced in developmental ages and stages as well as music pedagogy. This is now the highlight of our week.”
“Jessica is a great teacher! She is calm and patient with each student, and she creates a structured environment that is perfect for learning. She also keeps the lessons positive and fun! After studying with Mrs. Jessica, my daughter loves to practice and looks forward to her violin lesson and group lesson every week.”
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Violin STUDIO
Ventana Ranch (near Rainbow Blvd & Paseo Del Norte)
Albuquerque, NM 87114
