Welcome to the new learningviolin.com, learningviola.com, and learningcello.com!
In 1999, an adult student of mine showed up to her lesson one day, and announced that she had built me a website. All we needed was a domain name. In those days we had a broad choice of simple domains, apparently not many music teachers were building their own websites at the time, so learningviolin.com it was. My student set the whole thing up, and before long I was getting e-mails and calls from prospective students. I was in business!
In 2004 I decided to teach myself to use the DreamWeaver web builder so that I could make my own updates and redesign the site. After obsessing over it for months, writing scripts for video lessons and video taping in my dining room, learning how to edit videos in iMovie, I had a relatively updated and useful website on learning violin for beginners and intermediate players. I enjoyed the process very much, and probably knew somewhere in my coding hungry brain that this would not be the extent of my web designing days.
Fast forward to 2012, and several life changing events later, I found myself studying graphic design and web design at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Boy was I in heaven! I took every web design course that was offered, and after three years of taking classes in the evenings while teaching violin during the day, I found myself still thirsty for more coding knowledge. In spring 2015 I took an online course on freelance WordPress development from Skillcrush.com, and planned to dive into the world of web design after graduating. Life was however in the mood to throw me another interesting challenge when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2015. Coding days would have to be put on hold, and I would have to spend another few years squirming over the outdated learningviolin.com. I suppose it was a good lesson in humility and patience.
2023, 7 years cancer free, several web design projects later, turning back to performing with Know Orchestra, and feeling a good 20 years older than I actually am, here we are with a brand new site focused on curated string music from all over the world. I am so excited to finally be here, and I feel so lucky to be working on something I love so much. This project is all my worlds put together, writing, designing, coding, and getting excited about all kinds of music, new and old. I hope you enjoy!
Takk and thanks!
Íma
ps. The boring stuff … I grew up in Reykjavík, Iceland, moved to the US to study with the very amazing Mr. and Mrs. Vamos at Oberlin, OH, did my master in Contemporary Improvisation at The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA, performed and toured the world with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, pop artist Björk, avant-garde bassist Mark Dresser, Independent Music Awards winner Andromeda4, experimental improv and microtonal ensemble Know Orchestra, and performed at concert halls and venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the European MTV Music Awards, The Hollywood Bowl, the Red Rocks Amphitheater, and the Montreux Jazz Festival.
