Strings Department Chair

Teaching Artist Statement
I believe that every artistic experience, most especially an artist's daily practice, involves the entirety of one's being. My teaching goal is to spark each student's awareness and to guide them in a joyful journey with music that celebrates this entirety of being. For music performance students – fiddle, viola, violin – I emphasize a strong physical relationship with music, incorporating movement, singing and philosophies of Dalcroze Eurhythmics into all of my private lessons. As an educator, I am fascinated by improvisation pedagogy and how it applies to fostering vibrant, creative musicianship across genres. From all of these avenues, I believe that it is ultimately most important to find a way of learning that lets each specific student blossom.

Teaching Bio
As a teacher, Christine Hedden believes in a holistic approach to learning music. Her teaching philosophy is strongly influenced by her experience in Dalcroze Eurhythmics at Carnegie Mellon University, where she completed her B.A. in Music Composition and her B.A. in Viola Performance. She holds an M.M. in Music Composition from University of Michigan where she had the opportunity to delve into studies of free improvisation and collaborative arts. As a fiddle player, Christine's teaching is strongly influenced by her time at University of Limerick's Irish World Academy and by the philosophies of Martin Hayes, her teacher at the Willie Clancy Summer School in 2012. She has taught at the Interlochen Summer Arts Academy in collaboration with Huron High School, as well as teaching composition lessons for non-majors at University of Michigan and privately since 2011. She joined the faculty at South Shore Conservatory in 2015.

Performance Bio
Christine Delphine Hedden creates a sound that draws upon many wells: traditional, classical, and contemporary. As a performer and a composer, she has explored the fiddle in a variety of contexts: free jazz and improvisation, electronic music, contemporary classical music, and in the great rivers of tradition. Christine is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, holding a B.A. in Music Composition and a B.A. in Viola Performance. She has an M.M. in Music Composition at the University of Michigan, where she had the opportunity to premiere her thesis, "A Thaisce Riamh: Concerto for Fídíl and Orchestra," performing alongside Todd Craven and The University Symphony Orchestra as the fídíl soloist. Her teachers include composers Evan Chambers, Kristin Kuster and Nancy Galbraith; violist David Harding; and fiddler Marty Somberg. Christine performs regularly as a solo fiddle player, as well as with her beloved Father-Daughter duo, Headin' Home, and with a quartet of folk-inspired composers from University of Michigan, Ensoleil. She is a member of BMI, American Composer's Forum and Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity for Women Alumni. Christine joined the faculty at South Shore Conservatory in 2015.

visit Christine's website