Jean Gay

Cellist Jean Gay has been teaching privately since 2005, initially in her hometown of Atlanta, GA and now in Raleigh, NC. Her approach and perspective on teaching is continually developing and growing, but some of the values at the heart of her teaching include:

-Nurturing trust and rapport with every student from the start—making sure that everyone feels safe to explore, learn, and experiment in the lesson space
-Prioritizing connecting the skills and ideas we learn with the student’s unique voice at each stage of learning
-Consistently holding the belief that “every child can” at the forefront of our learning journey, and communicating that regularly with the student and/or the student’s family
-Providing students with practical steps and accessible skills at each stage so that learning progresses without excessive strain, stress, or negative judgement coming in.

Jean’s teaching philosophy and pedagogy has developed through direct experience with students over the past almost 20 years, as well as through educational opportunities and interactions with colleagues. Her formal teacher training began under the guidance of Pamela Devenport as she completed Suzuki Certification courses in books 1-8. She has also attended multiple Suzuki Method workshops and sessions, such as “Cello Group Teachniques” with Carey Beth Hockett, “Teaching with an Open Heart” with Ed Kreitman, and Tanya Carey’s “Cello Playing is Easy” course. Most recently she completed book 9/10 training with Nancy Hair at the Chicago Suzuki Institute. You can see her full educational resumé here.

Jean’s current availability for new students is on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at her studio in Raleigh, NC. Her studio Instagram page offers a way to view current student happenings, group/studio events, and related resources. She looks forward to hosting the annual Celloween workshop in Atlanta, GA again this year, and has her arrangements for sale here.