Greetings! I'm Kelly Wallace and I teach beginning to intermediate students from 3 years old and up. My emphasis is primarily on the Suzuki method and I teach mostly classical solo and duet repertoire. I also introduce other types of music such as fiddle and contemporary music, like movie themes and show tunes, for students who are interested and I also assist any students who need help with their orchestral and chamber music from school.

I am a member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA) and have completed certification for Every Child Can!, Suzuki Violin Units 1 and 2, the teacher enrichment course “Recharge and Renew our Standards of Excellence!” with Charles Krigbaum and Approaches to the Suzuki Group Class with Nancy Jackson. In addition to teaching at my home studio in Gurnee, I am a member of the violin faculty at the David Adler Music Center in Libertyville.

I began playing the violin at age 7 and learned with the Suzuki method under the instruction of the distinguished Suzuki educator, Milton Goldberg.  My later private teachers included Almita Vamos, Sylvia Rosenberg and Catherine Tait and I earned my Bachelor of Music degree in applied Violin from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

As a young violinist I won several local competitions and was concertmaster of the Illinois State Honors Orchestra in High School. Over the years I continued to study and perform a great deal of solo and chamber repertoire, but my music career has been primarily as an orchestral violinist where I have been a member of the New World Symphony Orchestra (as frequent concertmaster) in Miami and the Florida Naples Philharmonic. I have also performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chicagoland groups such as the Lake Forest Symphony, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Ballet. It was my great privilege to play under the baton of renowned conductors such as Georg Solti, Michael Tilson Thomas and Andre Previn and have performed as an orchestral member with a variety of artists ranging from Joshua Bell and Luciano Pavarotti to Gloria Estefan and Eddy Arnold. I have also played for televised performances and on CD recordings.

Growing up as a Suzuki student was a wonderful experience for me and I am thrilled to be able to teach now as a Suzuki instructor! Please email me or give me a call if you have any questions or want to get started taking lessons. I look forward to hearing from you!

Kelly Wallace, violin instructor

Dr. Suzuki giving me a lesson (1970s)

I have very fond memories of my experience learning with the Suzuki method and was fortunate to be able to play for  Dr. Suzuki himself at a summer Suzuki institute. As a child I knew he was the founder of the Suzuki method and was a kind, gentle man, but I did not understand fully how huge his impact was worldwide and what a humanitarian he was. His philosophy can be seen from this quote, "Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens, noble human beings. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth, and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart."

Welcome to my Studio!

Kelly Wallace

KW Violin Studio