Hi, I’m Lora and welcome to Meadowlark Violin Studio! Music is my passion and I hope I can help you along your musical journey.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Alabama and a Master of Arts in String Pedagogy from the University of South Carolina.

I’ve been a member of several orchestras, attended many music festivals, and taught quite a number of orchestra classes and private lessons to students ranging from age 5 to 75. 

But my journey to this point was definitely not standard. 

I grew up dabbling in many different instruments. As a young teenager my father and I would play our guitars and sing for hours in front of the fireplace…yep that was my life. 

When I was 15, my older sister brought home a violin. Being homeschooled, and a little sister, I would play her violin when she was away. For two weeks, I thought “this will be a fun hobby.” Then something clicked. I had fallen in love with this tantalizing instrument. It was unlike anything I had played before. It had a soul, if only I could discover how to bring it out.

I was determined to be a violinist, even though I could barely play all the notes in first position. Little did I know that professional violinists start playing around ages 2 to 6. A 10 year-old wanting to become a professional is considered “late.” 

Here I was, ten years behind every one else. Not to be deterred, I began practicing several hours a day. There were lots of tears, a couple music books thrown against walls, a fair share of humiliation from teachers and peers, but somehow I persisted. 

I was accepted into a music school for my undergraduate degree, and here I really started making people wonder. I spent more time than anyone else locked away in a practice room, and yet…my playing just wasn’t up to par. When I got those confused stares my usual reply was, “Well you see, I started learning the violin three years ago.”

When I started my graduate degree, I realized that no one questioned my playing. I often placed higher in auditions than other people who had been playing for twice as long as I had. It was with a great sigh of relief that I realized I had finally “caught up.”

Those ten years of struggle weren’t easy and many times I would have given anything to have started just a year sooner. Now, I wouldn’t change a thing. 

Learning the violin at a later age has made me better at my true passion…teaching. A fantastic violinist who has been playing since age 2 may not understand why beginners have trouble relaxing…but I sure do! I had to think through all of the problems most children simply grow out of. I had to break things down and think about them in different ways. I can empathize with my students, adults and children alike, because I know just how frustrating the violin can be! I also know how to overcome those frustrations and capture the beauty of this wonderful instrument. If any of that resonates with you, you're in the right place!

My love for teaching was the main reason I started my Online Studio Membership. During my 15 years of teaching private lessons, I found that even private lessons were not enough to learn everything you need to know about the violin. I also knew that so many of the online lessons out there were geared for children. I wanted to create a space for adults, with a focus on the problems adults face and solutions to those problems. My Online Membership was born and it’s been my pride and joy ever since. While recording courses, designing live lessons, and organizing all the material is so enjoyable, getting to interact with people like you every day is what makes the membership so much fun for me. You are the reason I love doing what I do!

During those years of struggle as a young adult, I may have given up the dream if it weren’t for my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. I know it was by his design that I started learning the violin at a later age, but it was also his design that brought me out of it a better, stronger person than I would have been otherwise. He alone has saved me from the constant wondering if I am ever good enough. I am and you are too.

Nowadays, when I’m not playing violin, you can generally find me a couple thousand feet in the air flying vintage tailwheels. Flying is my second passion. In addition to teaching violin, I’m also a flight instructor and enjoy teaching others to “slip the surly bonds of Earth.” I also love homesteading, gardening, quilting, writing, and anything with wings—that includes birds, chickens, and airplanes.

Happy Practicing!

~Lora