Cicely Nelson

Cicely completed extensive teacher training and certification in the Suzuki Method at the School for Strings in New York City, where she studied under Ekaterina Gerson, Allen Lieb, Louise Behrend, and Sasha Yudkovsky, and taught in the Start-Up Program.

She subsequently chaired the early childhood music department at the Vancouver Symphony School and maintained a studio at the prestigious Vancouver Academy of Music while gaining two master’s degrees in performance on violin and viola at the University of British Columbia. Her Bachelor’s Degree was obtained summa cum laude from Columbia University, during which time she studied violin at Mannes College under Shirley Givens and Joey Corpus.

An avid chamber musician, she has attended the Domaine Forget (Québec), Ameropa (Czech Republic), and Bowdoin Music Festivals (Maine). She performs regularly as an orchestral musician (most recently with the Santa Monica Symphony), soloist, and flamenco dancer and is an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas where she participates in continued education in Suzuki Pedagogy. Both her teaching and performing are informed by her lifelong background in movement (performance and therapy).

She currently maintains a small private studio in West LA and teaches for the LA Phil’s Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.