About
With his lifelong visions in enriching people’s lives through music, Mr. Ming-hang Tam is an active violinist who enjoys his passion in violin playing since the age of four. His outstanding skills and technique in violin performance, with superb communications to deliver precise teaching points at each lesson, are beloved by his students and their parents. Overall, Mr. Tam is competent, passionate and patient to share his experiences for over 20 years in classical music and violin performance to everyone.
Mr. Tam has concertized for solo, chamber music and large ensembles from early music to contemporary. He has performed in Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Eureka Ensemble, New England Conservatory Philharmonia, Eastman Philharmonia, and Empire Film Music Ensemble. Appeared in Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center, Boston Symphony Hall, and Kodak Hall at the Eastman Theatre, he premiered Aaron Jay Kernis’ Symphony No. 4 “Chromelodeon,” and Kevin Puts’ “Letters from Georgia” with Renée Fleming.
Mr. Tam holds a Master of Music degree with Academic Honors in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in the studio of Nicholas Kitchen, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Applied Music – Violin from the Eastman School of Music with Renée Jolles. Named on the Dean’s List for his academic excellence at both prestigious music schools, Mr. Tam has taught his peers in practice sessions and studio classes, honing their skills in listening and giving constructive criticism, with assistance in technique and musicality. He was the recipient of Dean’s Scholarship at NEC, Howard Hanson Scholarship at Eastman, and other merit scholarships at Heifetz International Music Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Catskill High Peaks Festival. Mr. Tam has served as Artist-in-Residence at the Suzuki Institute of Boston since 2018. He joined South Shore Conservatory of Music as a traditional and Suzuki violin teaching artist in 2019.
As a registered Suzuki violin teacher with the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), Mr. Tam has also studied the Suzuki violin pedagogy with some distinguished Suzuki teacher trainers, including Allen Lieb (CEO of International Suzuki Association), Thomas Wermuth, Rolando Freitag (former SAA Board Chair-Elect), Patricia D’Ercole and Joanne Melvin (former SAA Board Chairs), Charles D. Krigbaum, Judy W. Bossuat-Gallic, Christie Felsing, David Strom, and James Hutchins.
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
I believe in developing students’ full potential step by step, as a mentor, to inspire them to foresee a higher vision. To me, every student is an expert learner without limitations. Tailored to each student’s learning progress and needs, my lessons include practice tasks based on pedagogical principles from both the traditional approach and the Suzuki method. My top priorities in teaching include good posture and confidence to perform. I emphasize the importance of aural development by listening to recordings carefully to recognize fundamentals, such as tunes and rhythms, as well as more detailed aspects, such as articulations and tone quality. I also focus on performance practices and interpretations of each musical composition. Overall, I see every lesson as a lesson in life, equipping my students to face challenges with practicable strategies for understanding personal skills, such as patience, determination, consistency, focus, self-motivation, memory, logic, self-awareness with evaluation, reflection and self-correction, as well as interpersonal values of trust and respect. I hope to eventually be one of the educators who paves the way for a better world for the next generations.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Master of Music with Academic Honors in Violin Performance, New England Conservatory of Music (2019)
Bachelor of Music in Applied Music – Violin, Eastman School of Music (2017)
Teacher Development Program, Suzuki Association of the Americas (Since April 2019):
Registered Core Training: Every Child Can!, Suzuki Principles in Action, Violin Units 1-10, Violin Revisiting Unit 1, Violin Practicum, Violin Teaching Strategies
Supplementary: Strategies for Engaging Your Beginning Students for Online & Distance Environment, Works of Kreisler (By May 2021)
Enrichments: Establishing the Bow Arm Using Keen Observation, Precise Language and Balanced Feedback to Increase Efficiency and Motivation, An In-Depth Study of the Technical Exercises that Appear in the International Edition of the Suzuki Violin School
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons? If so, please share the details here.
Here are the fees per lesson depending on the duration:
15 minutes: $24
30 minutes: $44
45 minutes: $65
60 minutes: $86
75 minutes: $108
90 minutes: $129
Studio policies:
1. All monthly lesson fees are required to be paid no later than a week before the first lesson of the next month.
2. Students’ absences will only be accepted if notified no later than 24 hours before the scheduled lesson time. The fee paid for that missed lesson will then be used as a make-up lesson, rescheduled to sometime before the next lesson originally for another week. Please be flexible for the rescheduled lesson time based on my availabilities. Since there may be emergencies where student cannot notify ahead of the 24-hour requirement, I will consider them on a case-by-case basis. Despite this, I do hope that students will not miss any lessons with me if possible!
How did you get started teaching?
I started teaching in the neighborhoods of Boston in 2018 after I assumed the position of Artist-in-Residence at the Suzuki Institute of Boston. Other than teaching individual lessons and group classes in my private studio, I have also led school outreach programs in K-12 schools. In 2019, I joined South Shore Conservatory’s string department as a traditional and Suzuki violin teaching artist, and continues to motivate and prepare students for recitals, performances, and public appearances.
What types of students have you worked with?
I work with students from age 4 to adults, from beginners to advanced.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
Philosophy in violin teaching; Visions for students; Use of advanced technology and equipment for online lessons