Yue Pan

I am a violinist who has recently obtained my Master’s Degree in violin performance at Longy School of Music of Bard College, Cambridge, MA.

At Longy School of Music of Bard College, I studied with world-class violinist and conductor, Dr. Sean Wang, as well as Grammy nominated violinist Jesse Mills, the co-founder of the Horszowski Trio. During my two years of conservatory education at Longy School of Music of Bard College, I received systematic training in pitch, European written theory, score reading and conducting; I have also delved into disciplined study of chamber music and orchestral playing in the Orchestral Studies class, multiple chamber music groups, and Longy’s special Orchestra Flex program, a reimagined conservatory orchestra, producing three concerts a semester, featuring works from standard repertoire such as Beethoven, Haydn, and Mozart, to compositions by marginalized composers, such as female composers, Asian composers or Longy students and faculties. My repertoire ranges from Baroque composers such as J. S. Bach, Classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, to Romantic composers such as Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms.

My teaching is methodical. It is my personal belief that sometimes a complicated thing is actually very simple. For example, in violin playing, the easy things taught at the beginning is very crucial to a player in order to get on a higher level. I understand from personal experience that the fundamental techniques play a very important role in learning this instrument. I will apply a step-by-step method in terms of teaching. First, the student will learn how to set up the instrument correctly. Strictly speaking, each student is different in size and shape. I am good at helping student form a relaxed way of playing. The next step would be getting a nice tone out of the instrument, even at an early stage. This is often neglected in most early educational process, as most teachers see posture as only posture, but its purpose is to serve the sound. As soon as the student starts to look for that nice and round tone, techniques will come, and posture will fix itself. Having a nice tone is also a good motivation and inspiration for learning music. The better they sound, the more they practice, and that is how they improve.

Learning the violin is an extremely hard process, like everything else in life, there is never a shortcut. However, it is also a rewarding process that the student will not only gain the knowledge of playing the instrument, but how to be analytical, have patience, and how to focus better. The best reward is of course the joy for life. I will be there help you through the whole journey, and may you find as much pleasure in music making as I do!