Dr. Denise Chevalier Violin and Viola Studio - Palo Alto, California

Kenneth Lui

My son and I have been taking weekly violin lessons from Denise for almost a year and a half now. Before that, we've had another teacher as well, but we found Denise's methods and attention to her students to be the best by far. She is able to teach both me and my son at different levels, encouraging us in our own unique ways, while challenging us at the right times to improve upon ourselves.

What is different about Denise is that she is constantly tuned to her students' capabilities and progress, and as a result, she is able to adjust her teaching style accordingly, rather than blindly follow a set course. She is often creative in engaging her students, and while she can be demanding, she is always patient and fair at the same time. She reminds us of what we need to be paying attention to, and gives us a boost when we need it. All these make her lessons not only enjoyable, but also interesting and exciting to look forward to.

We feel very lucky to have found Denise as our violin teacher, and we are super appreciative of her time and energy in having us as her students.

Sarala Kat

I am an adult wanting to learn to play Violin with no prior musical sense, absolutely no knowledge about rhythm or harmony. And I was new to Bayarea so had no reference to find a teacher, as a result I called many online teachers and visited multiple music studios but quickly realized most of these classes were geared towards children and/or for adults who had already reached certain level of proficiency.
However, I feel lucky to have been informed about ‘Dr.Denise Chevalier Violin and Viola Studio’ and feel privileged to learn from Dr.Denise. She has this innate ability to mix Art and Logic – ability to convey complex information. As you would agree Violin is a difficult instrument to learn and having the right teacher makes all the difference. Dr. Denise uses analogies, gives creative practice exercises, refers music in history, tells a story.….all to help explain the material and help me understand the concepts before playing the music. Dr. Denise not only makes it fun to learn but also instills the discipline to practice. She is very strict who emphasizes the importance of practice and the right way to hold, learn, play an instrument.
Learning from Dr.Denise, I have deep appreciation for not only Violin but music itself and understand that I no longer want to learn Violin as a hobby but want to learn Violin as passion. Dr. Denise inspires you to learn and play.
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires” – William Arthur Ward