Preparatory String Program
The ISU Preparatory String Program offers 10 lessons per semester.
- Students age 5 through adult
- Lessons for 30, 45, or 60 minutes, once a week, scheduled directly with the assigned instructor
- All lessons online or on ISU campus
- Instructors consist of ISU music performance and music education majors, supervised and observed by Dr. Eleanor Christman Cox, director of the program, and Dr. Hyeri Choi, violin and viola professor.
For more information please contact:
Covid-19 Prevention Plan
- All of our rooms have been studied for the safety of different types of activities and numbers of participants during the pandemic. String lessons will require larger rooms in order to have a minimum of 6 feet of social distance between teacher and student. This semester there may not be room for parents to sit in on lessons.
- All persons visiting campus are required to wear a mask, including parents and students of all ages. Masks must cover the nose and mouth and fit properly to reduce touching by wearers. Avoid bringing babies and toddlers, who may not be able to wear a mask properly, into the Fine Arts Building (or any other building on campus).
- Between lessons, the air will be filtered and chairs and stands sanitized with CDC-approved wipes. Teachers will also wipe door handles. Be assured that our teachers will be trained to execute these steps properly.
- Students must wash hands before their lesson according to CDC guidelines--for 20 seconds--and attend to all areas between the wrists and fingertips, including between fingers and under nails. Washing hands upon entering the building is more preventative than using hand sanitizer, unless the bathroom happens to be crowded. It is even more important this year for students to have nails cut short the day of the lesson. Students should arrive 3-5 minutes before the lesson in order to execute these steps. After lessons, students can choose to wash hands or use hand sanitizer, which is posted in a few places throughout the building.
Beginner
Beginner string lessons are designed for students with little or no experience on the instrument who want to learn basic skills. They play simple folk songs and stay in first position.
Intermediate
Intermediate string lessons are designed for students who have been playing for a year or more and want to improve their skills. They work on pieces that include some shifting and late intermediate players learn vibrato.
Advanced
Advanced string students have been playing for a few years and are comfortable with both shifting and vibrato. They play etudes, sonatas, and concertos.
Tuition Cost for 10 lessons
$140 per semester for 10 30-minute lessons
$210 per semester for 10 45-minute lessons
$280 per semester for 10 60-minute lessons
Please fill out the registration form below.
Payment is due by 5 p.m. on Friday, February 5, 2021. Pay through the online link (sent directly to you) or deliver/mail cash or check (made out to ISU Preparatory String Program) to Liz Christensen, the Music Department's administrative assistant: Fine Arts Building, room 205 or Music Department, 921 South 8th Avenue, Stop 8099 Pocatello, ID 83209.
Mission Statement
The Idaho State University Preparatory String Program has two purposes:
- to provide quality private string instruction to committed students of all ages and levels who do not pursue college credit;
- to provide mentored teaching internships for string majors who are pursuing music degrees at Idaho State University.
Spring 2021 Schedule:
Our Director
Eleanor Christman Cox, DMA
Assistant Lecturer of Cello in the ISU Music Department, where she teaches applied cello and related courses, is a member of the Monarch Trio, is principal cellist of the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, and directs the Preparatory String Program. She performs widely as a chamber and orchestral musician.