Rachyl Martinez

Rachyl Duffy provides quality Suzuki private lessons and group classes to students of all ages and abilities, from total beginner through advanced high school/pre-college. Rachyl creates powerful connections with students, and maintains an open dialogue with parents. Teaching Suzuki has been her dream since she was 12 years old, due to the immensely connective, healing, positivity-minded, and holistic approach of the work. Rachyl specializes in working with children with special needs, particularly those on the Autism Spectrum or who have attention deficits or processing disorders. In Rachyl’s studio, students learn that mistakes are only opportunities to learn, that structuring daily practice effectively is the key to success, and that ease of basic technique is the most powerful means to personal expression. Rachyl has a joy and talent for deducing each individual student’s learning style (visual/aural/kinesthetic, global/sequential, etc.) and breaking down concepts in easily digestible ways, encouraging the student to build self-confidence and ownership of his or her work.

Highly educated, with excellent connections to programs and musicians across the country, Rachyl has balanced her passion for teaching with a career as a violist. She holds a master’s in viola performance with a Teaching Fellowship from the Colburn Conservatory (2016), as well as her Volume 8 Suzuki certification through School for Strings (2020). She was a member of the San Diego Symphony from 2016-17, has performed at the United Nations and Carnegie Hall with Mimesis Ensemble, and taken top prize in the prestigious Hugo Kauder Competition and Pasadena Showcase House Competition. She also recorded for “Dancing Circles in the Night,” Mimesis Ensemble’s debut album, and for multiple movie scores, rap tracks, and singer-songwriter tracks. Rachyl served as faculty at the Greenwich Suzuki Academy from 2019 until her move to California in 2020, and was on faculty at the Brooklyn Music School from 2017-19. She has alternated various assistantships with her own private studio since 2005.