Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Stutzman.
Hi Matt, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I graduated from VanderCook College of Music in 2004 and that same year I moved to Durham, NC. My first job in NC was working for Dorothy Kitchen at the Duke University String School where I still conduct a youth orchestra today.
In 2006 I started working for Durham Public Schools. I was the Strings teacher at Githens Middle School until 2015 where I left education and worked as a general manager at High Strung Violins and Guitars. After several three years I went off on my own and opened Indie Strings.
I sold violins out of a storage unit and rented space at Shadowbox to teach group violin classes. In 2017 I rented my first retail space and started a community orchestra I call the Adult Beginner Orchestra. We are a mix of young adults to retirees who want to play violin, viola, cello, and bass. We perform 4 concerts per year and have a Folk Ensemble, Cello Ensemble, and Orchestra.
We are in our 6th year of the Adult Beginner Orchestra and some of the players have gotten so good I had to create different levels of class. We now have beginner, intermediate, and advanced orchestra. We also offer other classes like scales and etudes, sight-reading, and even music theory.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
From the first advertisement I always had interest. There aren’t a lot of opportunities for adults to learn instruments, especially in group classes. I also want my students to have good instrument. As a strings teacher I saw a lot of my students get ripped off online and even at some of the local music stores of the Triangle.
To solve this challenge I started working with an instrument manufacturer out of California. They helped me build instruments that are both perfect for a beginner to learn on, and well-made enough for advanced players. I call them my “Indie” model instruments that include violin, viola, cello, and bass. They are unique in that they are all hand-carved, solid spruce tops with maple back and sides. The fingerboards are real ebony wood and they are all professionally setup to play well and sound amazing!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am most proud of my community orchestra. These adults work so hard practicing their music at home, coming to many of the 20 rehearsals throughout the week, and performing in free concerts for the community. They help program the music for each concert and we have so many adults composing songs we now premier roughly 25 original compositions per year! Most of these adults never thought they would play an instrument, let alone have an original composition performed by a live orchestra.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Every song that our community orchestra performs I record. I really enjoy tracking every part of an orchestra piece and editing together the song into a YouTube video. My students, and music students all around the world, can use these videos to help them get better on their instrument.
Pricing:
- $100/month for access to all classes
- Violins $35/month
- Violas $40/month
- Cellos $60/month
- Basses $100/month
Contact Info:
