Bad News

March 31, 2010 at 12:14 AM

I just got a letter from the music school where I take violin lessons telling me that my teacher has been laid off and won't be teaching there anymore in the fall. I don't know if she even knows yet. We didn't discuss the possibility at my lesson last week, and I had no idea this was coming.

I don't want to switch teachers! I like my teacher and I'm still learning a lot from her, I know sometimes a change is good, or necessary, but I don't think this is one of those times.

Maybe I can keep taking lessons from her privately. It might even be better for me financially if I don't have to pay the music school overhead. But her home is not nearly as conveniently located for me as the music school. I don't understand the economics of all this, but it just doesn't sound good. :(

From Anne-Marie Proulx
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 2:05 AM

Very sorry for you Karen. Best wishes to find the solution.

All the best,

Anne-Marie

From Anne Horvath
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 3:26 AM

I'm sorry to hear about your teacher. If travel time is an issue, maybe you could arrange for her to come to your home for your lessons? Just a thought...

From SAM MIHAILOFF
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 4:27 AM

Karen , you shall sort this out by talking with your teacher and then make the wisest choice that benefits you. Unfortunately, so goes the lives of musicians and teachers especially the strings...first to get the boot. It happened to me in the 1980 budget mess and it is here again today. This is why I cannot in good conscience steer anyone to music education degree work. It is just to fragile of a career choice

From Terez Mertes
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 3:34 PM

Oh no, oh no! There's nothing worse than losing a teacher you're not done learning from! Hope you two can work things out between yourselves, with some added benefit to both of you.

From Lisa Van Sickle
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 3:54 PM

I would hope the school informed the teacher about this before the students- it would be pretty shady of them to do otherwise. Sam's right; you need to figure out what is best for you, including convenience of getting to lessons. If you find you're often missing lessons because the drive is too much of a schlep, that's not good. Then again, changing teachers when you don't want to isn't good either. A rock and a hard place.

From Tom Holzman
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 4:05 PM

Oy! Good luck to you in working this out. You would be surprised how persuasive $$$ are in this economy. If necessary, Anne Horvath will be delighted to fly to Boston to give you lessons.

From SAM MIHAILOFF
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 6:43 PM

Tom is onto something ..violin lesson for a box from "Mike's"

From Anne Horvath
Posted on March 31, 2010 at 10:14 PM

I would be delighted to fly to Boston to teach you, but I would have to charge a bit more than the usual fee...

Seriously, some teachers travel to homes to teach. With your J-O-B and your kid, etc, this might be worth the extra charge. Just a thought.

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on April 1, 2010 at 10:20 AM

While lessons from Anne sound delightful, they're probably out of my budget :(

This situation was written up in today's Boston Globe.

My teacher is not mentioned by name, but she has taught there for a long time. I also know I wasn't her only student.

From SAM MIHAILOFF
Posted on April 1, 2010 at 11:38 AM

Karen,

Unfortunately, an employer, it seems, can do whatever it chooses. This sounds way too political "restructured its faculty" and reeks of union vote retribution . Personally, I would not opt to continue with another teacher there. Say "so longy" to Longy

REMEMBER: sort this out by talking with your teacher and then make the wisest choice that benefits YOU #1

From Lisa Van Sickle
Posted on April 1, 2010 at 4:22 PM

Oh, yuck! This sounds much like the situation at the charter school my kids attend- new administration, faculty feeling a need to unionize, firings, lack of openness, . . . the ugliness just grows.

If Longy has NO full-time faculty, as the side-bar says, they're not paying much of anyone a salary, benefits, etc., so there's less economic reason to reduce forces. The bad economy has caused a lot of cuts, but it is also been a handy excuse for dirty dealings of other sorts. Are they committed to their community education, or are they trying to spiff up the place by chasing out those awful amateurs?

From Tom Holzman
Posted on April 1, 2010 at 8:01 PM

That's sad. I studied at Longy in my long-lost youth, and my sister took lessons for a while with Sophie Vilker, who is mentioned in the article. A page of history turned, alas. Too bad.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on April 2, 2010 at 7:58 AM

I'm so sorry, Karen. I know that having a good teacher / student relationship is fundamental to learning. It's too bad that you can't hire her as your private teacher. Since she was such a good teacher for you, you will benefit from her tutelage for many years to come.

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