Dr. Valene Goldenberg

Dr. Valene Goldenberg received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance and String Pedagogy from the University of Oregon. She currently lives in Santiago, Chile, her hometown, and is fluent in both English and Spanish. Dr. Goldenberg has participated in various supplementary courses including Suzuki Early Childhood Education, Kodaly Method, Paul Rolland Method, Kato Havas Workshop, and Suzuki Piano.

At Institutes and Workshops in the US, Chile, and Peru, she has studied Violin Pedagogy and Suzuki Philosophy with various Suzuki Teacher Trainers, such as Caroline Fraser, Marilyn O’Boyle, Susan Kempter, Judy Bossuat, Doris Preucil, Cathy Lee, Sherry Cadow, and Linda Fiore. She recently participated in Mimi Zweig’s Retreat for Violin and Viola Teachers at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Convinced of how important it is for children to experience ‘fun learning,’ Dr. Goldenberg likes to add special ingredients to her approach to the Suzuki Method. She has arranged a set of Latin American Folk Tunes in the Suzuki style, which were performed in the Candlelight Concert Series in 2004 in Salt Lake City by Deborah Moench’s Violin students in conjunction with soprano Elizabeth Paniagua and members of the Children’s Dance Theater. She has recently applied for a grant from the Chilean National Music Foundation to publish these and distribute to local Suzuki teachers and schools.

In June 2007, after an invitation from the Fondacio Foundation to play for low-income schools, she composed “Pirates A-Hoy: a Violin Musical,” a choreographed musical for violins (instead of voices), that includes 2 main characters on solo violin and clarinet.

Dr. Goldenberg has also created several materials for teaching music theory to children that allow them to experience violin playing and theory at an early age through kinesthetic and multisensory activities that are entertaining and engaging.

As a clinician, Dr. Goldenberg has been invited to participate as a Teacher of Teachers in the VIOLIN TEACHER’S FORUM sponsored by FOJI, the Foundation of Youth Orchestras of Chile. She has also been a guest teacher for the DIPLOMADO (Teacher’s Certificate) for VIOLIN TEACHERS offered by the Music Conservatory of the Catholic University of Valparaiso, Chile. Her presentations are a synthesis of Suzuki and Rolland Methods for teaching violin in manners that develop ability in a fluid and natural way.

As a professional musician, she has played violin in the Ensemble Bartok-Chile, and several orchestras, including Wichita Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Chile, and Camerata Universidad de Los Andes.