Ms. Kamini Bhargava LaRusso

Kamini Bhargava LaRusso has been teaching Suzuki violin since 2001. Kamini enjoys nurturing and teaching Suzuki families of all ages. She encourages them to approach music education with focused practice, creativity, enthusiasm, and consistency. Currently, Kamini teaches Suzuki Violin Weekly Private and Group lessons at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the Fall of 2019, Kamini started Vivace Violins, an advanced violin performing ensemble.

Kamini grew up in Madison, WI. She studied both the piano and violin, participated in her public school string and orchestra programs, and played violin in the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. She attended Colby College in Waterville, ME, earning a bachelor’s degree in music. She spent one year in Cleveland, OH studying the Suzuki philosophy and approach to music education in depth with Teri Einfeldt. She completed her masters in Suzuki Pedagogy and Violin performance at the University of Denver, CO with James and Jackie Maurer.

Kamini created a Suzuki Violin program within a public school in Littleton, CO at the Centennial Academy of Fine Arts prior to joining the MacPhail Faculty in 2006. Kamini currently enjoys playing in the first violin section of the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and is a Suzuki parent in the program. She is a current Board member of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota. She has served on the Suzuki Association of Minnesota graduation committee, and as the co-coordinator of the Suzuki Association of the Americas 2018 Conference. She served as the MacPhail Suzuki Assistant Director to support the programs’ students, families, teachers, and director from May 2012-October 2021.

Favorite non-musical hobby: Enjoys laughing, reading, travelling, outdoor walks, spending time with family and friends, and cheering her kids on at soccer and hockey games.