Violin - Viola
To contact Brooke, please click here
brookeviolist.com
Brooke Mickelson is a violist, music educator, and social entrepreneur with a passion for community arts engagement. Through all of her roles, Brooke’s mission is to connect people through the arts and provide access to music education. She started playing viola in public school at age 10 because it was “cool” and has never stopped believing it. Brooke now holds a Master of Music Performance (Performance Pedagogy) from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music Performance from Boise State University, having studied with Nancy Buck, Dr. Linda Kline, and Jennifer Drake.
Ms. Mickelson has more than 10 years of experience teaching private viola and violin lessons. Her students have earned seats in youth orchestras and high school chamber orchestras and have been accepted to study music at university. Currently she teaches lessons at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View, CA, as well as for her private business at Hope Street Music Studios. Her viola and violin students have opportunities to perform in studio recitals, audition for youth orchestras and summer music festivals, and compete in solo competitions.
Lauded for “exceptional tone colors and range of intensity,” Brooke won 2nd place in the 2018 Music Teachers National Association Idaho State Competition and received honorable mentions in 2017 and 2019. Most impressively, she placed in the finals for the 2019 Boise State University Concerto-Aria Competition performing the first movement of Hindemith’s “Der Schwanendreher” viola concerto from memory. She has played in solo master classes for renowned viola soloists and pedagogues Jeffery Irvine, Mai Motobuchi, and Karen Dreyfus.
Brooke has played in orchestras at prestigious music festivals from Brevard Music Institute to FOOSA Festival. In 2018, she performed in Los Angeles’ Disney Hall with the FOOSA Philharmonic. She was a leading player in her university symphony and chamber orchestras and has also enjoyed playing in community orchestras. She has played in chamber music masterclasses with the Borodin, Borromeo, Cremona, Shanghai, and Saint Lawrence string quartets. She loves collaborating with composers and has played in premieres for 4 new chamber music pieces. Her specialty lies in 20th-century works. At the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival in Alaska, she performed Hindemith’s “Trauermusick” viola concerto with a professional orchestra in 2016 and Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” in 2018.
Ms. Mickelson helps students reach their musical goals, big or small. She meets students where they are at and challenges them open new possibilities in their music-making. She guides student progress by assigning solo repertoire at the edge of their technical skills and providing them with a solid technical foundation and understanding of musical concepts that make it more enjoyable to play. Progress is gradual when studying an instrument, and perseverance is a student's best tool. Students who learn to work smart and hard and have patience benefit from those skills in every aspect of their lives. Through this music-learning process, Brooke hopes to foster a love of music that will last a lifetime.