Bio

Why I Teach

When I was about five, my grandmother showed me the violin she had played as a child. It was too large for me hold, so she set the instrument down on the bed and let me rock the bow back and forth over the strings. I remember looking at the fingerboard and marveling how anyone could possibly know where to put their fingers. Eventually my grandmother returned the violin to its case, and it disappeared back into the closet. I didn't think about it again until fourth grade.

The middle school orchestra toured our school one day while making the rounds of the local elementary schools. We gathered in the gym and listened as students only a few years older than us played orchestral instruments. After the performance, students were invited to come up and try out an instrument. I did, and went home that evening begging for permission to play in the orchestra for the following year. I chose the viola, and gave up recess time my 5th grade year to attend orchestra rehearsals in the school library. 

Everything about learning a new instrument was exciting - the comforting scent of the wood, the shiny cake of new rosin, the music spelled out in letters on colorful paper, even the the way my fingers hurt after fighting with the latches on my case. It was my first experience playing an instrument in an orchestral setting, and I was hooked. 

As the years progressed, orchestra became the only time I felt I could truly communicate.  I was a classic introverted child, but with the viola in my hand, I had so much to say. I learned to speak fluently, in various styles, moods, and colors. Without really understanding the whole picture, I was participating in what I now realize is the most basic and beautiful form of human communication.

I became a music educator to share the wonder of music. Creating a musical connection with students and witnessing their own wonder and growth has been and continues to be a thoroughly rewarding experience. My work with students from all walks of life has solidified my belief that anyone with the desire to study music has the capacity to learn, regardless of prior musical education or experience.

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Bio

Violist Jaime Gould has been an instructor and freelance performer for over fifteen years. She has performed in the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Tri-Cities Opera, and the Orchestra of the Southern Finger Lakes. An early music enthusiast, she has also performed as a member of Cornell University's early music ensemble Le Petit Violons as a baroque violist, and currently studies the bass viol and viola d'amore. She is also interested in "unusual" string instruments, and has performed as a member of the Albert Consort as an alto violinist. 

Jaime has been an adjunct lecturer in viola at Ithaca College, and is currently faculty at the Ithaca Community School of Music and Art where she teaches viola and violin. She also maintains a private home studio.

She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Education and Viola Performance, and a Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from Ithaca College.