Music With Toby

Toby is a phenomenal violin teacher whose passion for music and life is just contagious. My 11-​year old daughter has taken violin with Toby for the past 3 years and looks forward to each and every lesson where we are greeted with a hug and smile. Toby is extremely professional, warm, positive and encouraging, and makes use of every single minute of our 30 minutes together each Saturday. My daughter has made excellent, steady progress under Toby’s tutelage and developed great practice habits. Toby goes the extra mile to create a connected community of musicians and their families, which is not an easy feat in a fast-​paced community. She emails a newsletter and organizes two recitals each year, as well as «studio classes» that give students a chance to share what they are working on in a more relaxed, casual way. Holiday music, a «fiddle fest» at our local farmer’s market, and art/​summer day camps are other ways Toby helps keep her students happy and engaged. Toby is just one of those people I feel so lucky to have crossed paths with for my kids’ growing up years. I could not recommend her more highly.

My 7-​year old daughter has been taking violin lessons with Toby for about seven months, and it has been a wonderful journey for her. Toby is such a positive, energetic, fun, and inspiring violin teacher. Her teaching method is excellent. Thanks to Toby’s encouragement and patience, my daughter’s violin skills have improved and her love and interest in playing the violin is high. My daughter looks forward to Toby’s lessons (as do I). We feel very lucky and grateful to have Toby as our daughter’s violin teacher, and I highly recommend her to anyone who is thinking about learning violin.
Toby also has a wonderful music summer camp. Her camp is an excellent way for anyone to learn a little violin. This is where our daughter first had violin exposure, and she has loved to play ever since.

My son just finished up violin summer camp with Toby, and he cannot stop talking about it! Toby is incredibly warm, open, engaging and skilled at what she does with the children. Always positive, encouraging and setting high expectations, Toby really has a special way with kids. My son gained so much enthusiasm for playing the violin, as well as confidence in playing in front of a group and as part of an ensemble. I would recommend her to anyone, and we will most certainly be back with her again for next summer’s camp!

Our 9-​year old has been taking violin lessons with Toby for about a year now, and I can’t say enough good things about her!
My daughter is counting the days until we see Toby next, and has not once complained about practicing, she is so very motivated. Toby makes everyone feel welcome right away, and through establishing a wonderful relationship with the children while teaching the big picture and the details, she manages to bring out the best in them. My daughter has made great progress, I love listening to her & going to Toby.
Toby also does fantastic violin & arts summer camps, to put it in my daughter’s words «EVEN better than the lessons, because I get to do more!»

My 10 year old has been taking lessons with Toby for about 6 months now. She absolutely adores Toby. Toby is always so patient and encouraging to my daughter. She makes the lessons so much fun and easy to do. All her corrections are made so nicely but she really pushes my daughter to try her best. If your child wants to lean violin, I would highly recommend Music With Toby. She is absolutely awesome!

My five year old daughter has been taking violin lessons with Toby for about six months now. Every week when we leave her studio I marvel again at our extreme good luck in finding her (on Unilocal no less)! Toby is truly an outstanding teacher. She is such a warm and friendly and inviting person that you feel happy just being around her! She has a real knack for explaining complicated concepts in an easy to understand way and she makes every lesson fun and interesting and yet meaningful and productive. No doubt there are lots of great violinists out there who teach lessons, but Toby is that special kind of teacher who does much more than merely help her students become technically proficient at their instrument. If you’re looking for someone who will really «get» your child (no matter their age, temperament or skill level) and nurture them onward while also imparting a real enthusiasm for music, it really, truly is hard to imagine anyone better than Toby. And, as an added bonus, Toby is extremely good at communicating with parents, responding quickly to emails and sending out regular updates. We really can’t recommend her enough!!!

Toby is simply amazing with children. As a protective mother, I can say honestly say there is no one else I would trust more with my child. I actually learn a lot through her watching her interact with my daughter. As an experience and conscientious music teacher, she engages effortlessly with my 2-​year old daughter. I love seeing how my daughter’s imagination being ignited through playing music, art and play. I recommend her without reservation. If I could give her 6 stars I would!

We enjoy our violin lessons with Toby, and our eight year old LOVES them. Toby is very enthusiastic, patient, knowledgeable AND fun. She paces the lessons very well for the young student, providing lots of variety, but with plenty of substance, too. She’s also very good about giving specific instructions for our daily practice. I’m a music teacher, too, so I know how hard it is to balance work with fun, and Toby is VERY good at keeping the young one’s interest and enthusiasm while still providing good solid information. We highly recommend Toby!