Teaching has been a passion of mine for a long time and I am grateful to do something that I love for a living. There are many different kinds of teachers, methods, and ways to learn. My teaching is rooted in the belief that every child can have a meaningful connection with music. Undertaking the learning of a string instrument takes daily dedication and loving guidance. Many skills must be learned and practiced, but the reward of having the cello as a life long friend to lean on for comfort and joy makes the task worthwhile. In learning, one discovers that it is the journey that is important.
I personally have a background in the Suzuki Method, having started cello with it at the age of 4. I received my Suzuki Teacher Certification for Books 1-4 with Dr. Melissa Kraut at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Book 5 with Carol Tarr at the Chicago Suzuki Institute and Book 6 with Avi Friedlander through the Los Angeles Suzuki Institute.
The Suzuki Method is an effective way to learn the cello for young children as young as 3. Dr. Suzuki believed that talent is not inborn but something that can be developed. He believed firmly in the potential of every child, and based his method upon the same principles as language acquisition. Lots of listening, small skills presented in sequential order, positive reinforcement, social interaction. A Suzuki education means a close working relationship between myself, an adult learning partner and the student, daily listening of the played repertoire, and peer interaction through the Group Class.
Music is an important part of every culture. I am a professionally trained Classical musician, but it is important to me that my students enjoy and experience a wide range of styles and genres. My hopes are to provide them with a voice through the cello and for them to see themselves reflected in the music they play and the artists that they know. I invite students to bring to me music that speaks to them. Additionally, learning to express oneself in the form of improvisation has become an important element in my teaching. Students are encouraged to create, compose and express themselves.
Within the realm of Classical Music it must be acknowledged that systemic racism has resulted in the erasure of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour composers from the standard repertoire and limited the ability of Black artists to perform on stage. I am actively committed to the responsibility I have as an educator to learn and incorporate the music of BIPOC composers into my teaching repertoire and familiarize students with the many great BIPOC artists of the past and present. Black Lives Matter. Indigenous Lives Matter.
My studio ranges from very young children to those who are young at heart! If you are in Ottawa and are interested in learning more about the Suzuki Method or starting the cello, send me a message!
Testimonials
"Desiree uses every minute of my lesson time well. Takes my playing as it is and moves me forward" - Terry, adult amateur
"In my professional life I evaluate teachers regularly and there are few that have the perfect balance of being a highly trained professional and also a master communicator with all ages. She is creative and personalizes for her students and balances that with high standards so that her students really excel. No matter what scale you use, Desiree Abbey is an amazing cellist and teacher." - Tanya, studio parent
Land Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Jacquelyn and Hunter Cardinal for creating a learning space for deepening my understanding of Land Acknowledgments. Thank you for introducing me to the Cree word Tatawaw: Welcome, there is room. I intend to do my part to make room for and invite others into this conversation with the same spirit of generosity, humility, acceptance, and grace that the Cardinals embodied as they offered a group colleagues and myself greater insight into Land Acknowledgments, treaties and the rooting of the treaty relationships in kinship. If you are interested in learning more about the work that they do, please visit Naheyawin
Lessons and Classes are held in my home studio located in Riverview Park, on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial. I acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and I recognize the Algonquins as the customary keepers and defenders of the Ottawa River Watershed and its tributaries.
Making connections through the medium of music is an integral part of my identity. The power music has to find and highlight our common humanity has always enthralled me. My love of connecting with others led me to becoming a musician, a storyteller, searching to communicate every facet of what it is to be human in a shared experience. Beyond my identity as a musician, my ancestry informs my values and are also a large part of my being. I grew up in Toronto, with a West-Coast father who traces his roots to Europe, and my mother who came to Canada as a child from the Guangdong Province in China. Home is where my family is though, and wherever I land, I love making new connections to my surroundings.
I am glad to be residing currently in Ottawa, with it's beautiful trails and green spaces. It is a place layered with history, and as I raise my children I commit to teach the full history of this place and encourage their own connection to the land and its people. As I guide others on their musical learning journeys, it is my desire to instill in them empathy, beautiful hearts, a curiosity to discover, humility to continually learn, and the ability to connect with and respect others. I dream of a future that is built on connection and filled with problem solvers, working together as one. It is my intention to do my part by continuing to learn myself and model such qualities. As Dr. Suzuki said "Thoughtful parents, for the sake of their children, seek to make their own hearts true and to illuminate the nest paths for living, which is the real way to love."
"Which of our abilities will develop, and how they will develop, are determined by the kind of stimulation a child receives every day... In this respect, the child's parents in that they form his environment, have the greatest responsibility. Every day the child is subjected to the ideas and feelings of his parents and before he knows it by the means of the power of living things, he has internalized various abilities."
"Children anywhere in the world, as human beings, have this wonderful life force. We should recognize and deeply revere this and strive to make the very most of it. The simple fact is, that the people of every race are, first of all, human beings. The people of the world should all hold this same respect for life and strive to help each other and work together for a happy world for all."