Teaching Artist Statement

I teach because I enjoy sharing my passion for music and learning with the next generation. Every child and adult bring something unique to the experience and I value our exchange. I love to teach to the individual student in front of me and help encourage each student to bring out the best in themselves and others. I enjoy when students surprise themselves with being able to attain a skill they didn't even know they were capable of. I believe teaching music can foster an overall love of the learning process. The end result is contingent upon how much effort one invests in achieving their goals. In this day of instant gratification, it's even more important to develop this discipline and the perseverance necessary to achieve these goals. Through mastering small steps at a time, students can build a monumental skill they can enjoy for a lifetime. Whether or not my students become professional musicians, my hope is that they can use the skills they've developed to either become a musician if they should choose to, or at the very least be able to carry the discipline and joy developed from their studies into all areas of their lives.

Teaching Bio

Heidi has been teaching private lessons and coaching ensembles since she began attending The City University of New York, Brooklyn College, at the age of 16. She was on the Brooklyn College Prep Center Faculty at 18 where she worked as a collaborative artist and coach. In addition to music performance, Heidi also has a Master's degree in Education and Math and for several years she taught middle school through college level Math in New York and Colorado. Heidi officially moved to Aspen, Colorado in 2001 after graduating from Brooklyn College Summa Cum Laude. Heidi was a pianist at the Aspen Music Festival and School for two previous summers and in 2002, Heidi started the very first Suzuki Violin and Piano School in the Roaring Fork Valley. For 21 years, Heidi maintained a studio of 45 Suzuki violin and piano students from ages 3 to adults. Heidi was fortunate to grow up immersed in the Suzuki world from the age of 3, thanks to her dedicated mother, who is also an accomplished violin teacher. In addition to teaching students in the Roaring Fork Valley, Heidi maintained a full schedule of attending, performing, giving presentations for teachers and teaching numerous students at workshops and institutes throughout the United States, Asia and Europe. Notable Suzuki experiences include teaching and performing in Costa Rica at the National Theater, performing with students at the Suzuki Gala at the Royal Albert Hall in London, performing, presenting and learning in Germany at the International Suzuki Teacher's Exchange with Kerstin Wartberg in Germany for seven years, performing at the Taiwan Suzuki Festival, attending the Suzuki World Convention in Matsumoto, Japan, teaching at the Suzuki Institute in Draper Utah and at the Advanced Suzuki Institute at Stanford University, as well as performing with Aleksey Igudesman and 1000 young violinists from around the world in Cremona, Italy. Heidi's violin and piano teachers who have left an impact on her life include her mother, Gitta Curatolo, Christiane Pors, Itzhak Perlman, Agustin Anievas and Karl Ulrich Schnabel. Heidi has had 20+ years of Suzuki Teacher training with way too many wonderful teacher trainers to list and is very grateful for all of the wonderful education she has received throughout the years.

Performance Bio

Heidi has been performing since she was 3 years old. Heidi's performances include violin and piano solo recitals, chamber music, orchestral performances and numerous concerto engagements as a soloist with orchestra on both violin and piano. Heidi has performed as the Beethoven Piano Concerto Competition winner at Brooklyn College when she was 17, Piano solo at Steinway Hall in New York City, Soloist at the Shandelee Music Festival, The Aspen Music Festival and School, The Wheeler Opera House, The Symphony in the Valley, The Aspen Choral Society, The Aspen Chapel where she has performed classical programs 2 to 3 times a month this past year, with her classical string quartet called, "The Silver City Strings", and she continues to perform at Suzuki Celebration Concerts.

In addition to Music, Educational Philosophy and Psychology, Heidi loves solo travel, traveling with friends, hiking, kayaking, Lego, relaxing at hipster cafes and both landscape and toy photography. Heidi has been creating travel and music theory and history stories through her Maileg mouse characters called, "The Ratolos." She has been doing an internship with her photography for the Maileg company creating educational photo stories and hopes to bring joy to others through her creative pursuits.