Vena is a highly dedicated teaching artist with a firm belief in using music as a vehicle
​for guiding students in discovering the beauty and identity within them. 

Vena recently volunteered as violin teacher at the Gurukul International Academy in Dang, Nepal, where she taught beginner violin with the students. More importantly - teaching violin allowed for a cross-cultural connection and exchange.

She also has experience as a performing teaching artist, in which she visits classrooms and connects with students through performance and dialogue. She was on the performing roster of Associated Solo Artists's Learning Arts Division, presenting "informances" at schools throughout the Adirondack Region of New York state. She has recently visited The American School of Tangier in Tangier, Morocco, where she performed and connected with general music classes and the school choir.

Photo Credit: Steven Krull

Photo Credit: Dana Scherer

​Vena also has experience teaching in socially-driven programs that focus on using music as a tool for social change:

• Mitchell Elementary in West Philadelphia (through Wayne Presbyterian Church in Wayne, PA)
• The Jubilee School in West Philadelphia
• Violin Teaching Artist at Play On, Philly! in West Philadelphia
• Beginning Strings Specialist at El Sistema Lehigh Valley in Allentown, PA

​CREDENTIALS

Bachelor Degree in Violin Performance (Temple University '10)
Bachelor Degree in Music Education (Temple University '10)
Certified K-12 Music Educator in Pennsylvania
Member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas (attending certification workshop at Hartt Suzuki Institute in August 2012)