Hey there, thanks for visiting my site. My name is Cheryl and I am a music teacher and performer in Victoria, BC.
I grew up in the greater Vancouver area with music being a large part of my life. My family loved music and making music at gatherings was a regular and enjoyable activity. From a young age I took private music lessons in piano, theory, voice, and drumkit. I had a variety of teachers and experiences and I am grateful that I have had many opportunities to share my music through performance. As an adult I continue to enjoy playing, and teaching others has become a strong passion of mine.
Education and Credentials
I hold a Bachelor’s of Music, major in percussion performance, from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Prior to receiving my degree at UBC, I studied vocal performance at Douglas College. Throughout my post-secondary education I focused on other musical elements as well as performance including voice, percussion, trumpet and brass instruments, piano, theory, history, composition, jazz playing, and orchestral and choral conducting.
After completing my B. Mus in percussion performance at UBC I began working and studying with Laura Hasthorpe, accomplished violist and Colourstrings Instructor. I had been a private music teacher for 5 years and was very intrigued by Laura’s early childhood music and movement program called Colourstrings. Colourstrings Kindergarten classes are group music lessons for children ages 3 months to 6 years. The approach was developed by Dr. Géza Szilvay and Csaba Szilvay and is based on the philosophies three prolific music educators, Zoltán Kodály, Carl Orff, and Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, along with the Szilvay brothers’ own teachings. One of the things I value most about Colourstrings classes are how musically well-rounded they are. Traditional private lessons often focus too heavily on some skills at the expense of developing others. I quickly discovered that Laura’s students were developing musical skills that I had not started developing until university! I decided to become a certified Colourstrings Kindergarten instructor excited to strengthen my learning in early childhood music education. I studied in Vancouver and abroad in Vienna, Austria and am a certified Colourstrings Kindergarten Instructor.
B.Mus, Certified Colourstrings Kindergarten Instructor with Distinction
Experience
I have been a professional musician for 21 years and a music teacher for 19 years. After completing my Colourstrings certificate I continued to teach and perform. From 2011-2017 I taught full time at the VSO (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) School of Music and at the Colourstrings Conservatory of Music. I was also directing a children’s choir, a youth music group, and accepting gigs when time permitted it. In 2017 I moved to Victoria and was saddened to say goodbye to over 300 families in Vancouver that I had been working with weekly. I greatly value the experience I gained in Vancouver and cherish the relationships I made there.
In Victoria, Fall 2017, I set up my own music business. It was a joy to become connected with a vibrant musical community on the island. As we enter the Fall of 2024 I have a full schedule teaching privately and running Colourstrings Music & Movement classes at local daycares and at the Gordon Head Recreation Centre. I continue to perform as a drummer, percussionist, pianist, and vocalist. I play as a soloist and with other musicians. Most of my playing involves leading music at events and conferences for children, youth, and adults. You can find me playing weekly on drumkit at Broadview United with Louise Rose and Jeff Poynter on Sunday mornings. At Broadview United I also direct an elementary school aged children’s choir and a beginner handbell choir for adults. I also enjoy composing and arranging for myself as a performer and for the groups I work with.
