Our Studio
I teach students ages 3-adult from my home studio in Chandler, Arizona (Ray/Dobson). It's my mission to instill joy, passion, and commitment in every student I work with! I help each student develop a strong technical foundation, foster creativity, and find their voice as a musician.
I prioritize the development of excellent technique through a rigorous study of scales, etudes, and technical exercises. My goal is to make cello playing as efficient as possible so that we are not working harder than we need to play beautifully. To foster creativity, we study solo repertoire, which includes the Suzuki Method books, concertos, sonatas, Bach suites, and other solos. We talk in depth about the character of the music and how we can use our creativity to bring the music to life. I also work with each student to grow their confidence, critical thinking, and personal responsibility. And, of course, we do all of this while having fun!
I encourage many of my students to join extra curricular musical organizations such as the Phoenix Youth Symphony, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Youth Symphony of the Southwest, and Gilbert Town Fiddlers. Many of my students perform solo recitals as well. For example. we celebrate the completion of a Suzuki Book by giving a Suzuki Book Recital for friends and family. Many of my older students, regardless of level, give yearly recitals of the repertoire they have worked on throughout the year. These solo recitals give us a goal to work towards and teach students to take ownership of the music they are working on. Each recital reflects the student's personality and character; from playing duets with siblings to teaching origami, my students infuse their flare throughout the cello performance. I also encourage my students to compete in solo competitions such as Arizona Regional and All State Orchestra, Phoenix Youth Symphony Arizona Young Musicians Competition, Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Competition, and ASTA Arizona Sting Competition.
Practice Requirements
Dedicated and consistent practicing is a requirement for all ages in my studio. I work with each student to create a specific practice plan that supports their level and goals. It is important that parents, students, and I are all on the same page so that I can best support every child's growth as a musician.
Rates
Please email me at jenna.dalbey@gmail.com to inquire about my current rates.
Accomplishments
I encourage my students to make goals and challenge themselves through recitals, competitions, and auditions. Here are some of their recent successes!
2018 Regional Orchestra
Justin Bai, Caleb Ham, Josiah Duhlstine, Ellamay Mantie, Rachel Porter
2018 All State Orchestra
Justin Bai, Josiah Duhlstine, Ellamay Mantie
2018 Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Competition
Josiah Duhlstine 3rd place senior string division
2018 Phoenix Youth Symphony Arizona Young Musicians Competition
Josiah Duhlstine 3rd lower string division, 9th overall
2017-2018 Solo Recitals
Ellamay Mantie, Josiah Duhlstine, Justin Bai, Anna Olsen
2017-2018 Suzuki Book Recitals
Joel Wright, Julie Gutherie, Goldie Estrada
2017 ASTA Arizona Sting Competition
Josiah Duhlstine honorable mention senior division
Phoenix Youth Symphony
Youth: Justin Bai, Josiah Duhlstine, Ellamay Mantie, Rachel Porter
Symphonette: Caleb Ham
Metropolitan Youth Symphony
Division II: Heeyoung Hwang, Stephanie Ng, Leah Ratynski
Debut: Julie Guthrie
Youth Symphony of the Southwest
Enoch Chou
Graduates
I am honored to work with students for many years and watch them grow into amazing human beings. They are now doing exciting things throughout the world!
Josiah Duhlstine graduated in May 2018 and will be attending The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for cello performance in the Fall. Josiah has also been very active in local solo competitions, and has placed in events hosted by the Arizona Musicfest, Phoenix Youth Symphony, and the American String Teachers Association. This year, Josiah received Best in Class in the low strings category of AMEA's Solo/Ensemble Festival, and was also a featured soloist at the Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Concert at the Musical Instrument Museum. 2017 marked Josiah's solo debut when he performed the first two movements of Elgar's dramatic Cello Concerto with the Youth Symphony of the Southwest, and he also had the opportunity to experience the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont. In addition to maintaining a humble cello studio for the past two years, he had the honor of serving as a faculty member at Stringplay Camp 2018, directed by Taylor Morris.
Rachel Porter graduated in May 2018 and will be attending Mesa Community College in the Fall. She plans on continuing playing the cello in the East Valley Millennial Orchestra.
Josie Greenwald is studying cello performance at the University of North Carolina School for the Arts. In 2017 Josie was awarded the Kenan Excellence Scholarship, UNCSA’s most prestigious scholarship award. As a freshman she had the opportunity to play in UNCSA’s production of the Nutcracker. She has also been involved in Collage, film scoring, and numerous orchestra concerts. Since starting school, Josie has been accepted into the International Music Festival of the Adriatic where she will study this summer in Duino, Italy.
Seanwyn Ng is attending Princeton University where she is studying computer science. She plays cello in the pit orchestra of a musical theater troupe and a Princeton cello ensemble.
Jade Gates attends Arizona State University where she is studying biochemistry and is part of the Barrett Honors College. She plays cello in the Chandler Symphony, gigs in the Phoenix-metro area, and teaches cello lessons at The Music Store.
Carlito Stewart is attending the University of Arizona and is studying cello performance. He is currently on faculty at Rosie's House: A Music Academy for children. During the summers, he acts as faculty for StringPlay, a summer music camp dedicated to developing creative styles of music performance.
Haley Hedegard is attending Chapman University and is studying cello performance.
Emma Westerhoff is studying electrical and computer engineering at Olin College. She plays cello in the Olin Conductorless Orchestra, where she serves as the lead navigator. She enjoys playing chamber music and premiering new works for local composers.