Hello, My name is Claire Hebeisen and I am a violinist. I have been passionate about teaching for as long as I can remember. When I was a small child starting Suzuki Book 1, I would share what I was learning with anyone who would listen; I was so excited about the music I was beginning to create. Learning to play violin felt like discovering a magic power, and the enthusiasm to share those sounds and the skill to create them was bursting from me.
Many years of practicing, performing, and teaching later, I’ve recognized that learning to play music is learning how to listen, both to the imagined sounds in your head and the sounds you are creating with your instrument, and then creating those sounds with physical ease and fluency. The relation of sound and movement is a constant process for all musicians whether you have been playing for 5 days or 50 years. I aim to meet my students wherever they are on this journey of discovery and to share with them my excitement for experimentation, expression, and sounds.
Bio
Violinist Claire Hebeisen is a player of music, a connector of people, and a sharer of stories. She aims above all to listen – to music, audiences, and students – and to approach everything she does with a sense of loving vulnerability and openhearted curiosity.
Claire is active in chamber music, solo performance, and community engagement in North America and Europe and has performed in the United States, Canada, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, and England. In May 2024, Claire recorded and gave the world premiere of two violin concerti by Tristan Latchford, including “Yearnings For Home” which was written for and in collaboration with her. Most recently, Claire has been touring a concert of her creation, entitled Sorrow and Kindness, in which she weaves together solo violin music, poetry, personal reflections, and meditation.
Claire loves playing music with other people and regularly performs chamber music in churches, outdoor venues, and cafes in the DMV. After attending the community-focused Windwood Music Festival in Alberta, Canada as a resident artist, Claire was invited to join the permanent Windwood team as a performer and administrator. She will return to Alberta in February to perform with the Windwood Trio during the winter iteration of the festival. Claire is also a member of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra and subs regularly with other local orchestras, including the Maryland Symphony Orchestra.
Claire is the Artistic Director of the Honey Acres Music Center located in Boyds, MD. She started the HAMC Concert Series at the Honey Acres Farmhouse in June 2024 which strives to create family-friendly musical experiences by breaking down the fourth wall between audience and performer through cozy spaces, local food, and conversation. Claire also runs the Honey Acres teaching studios where she has a private violin studio. Additionally, Claire teaches with the DC Youth Orchestra and substitute teaches for Peabody Preparatory.
Claire received a BM in ‘22 and MM in ‘23 from Peabody Institute studying with Violaine Melancon and Judith Ingolfson. During her time there, she organized and participated in many new music and chamber music collaborations including extensive concerts with her violin/percussion duo. She was also a co-director of Peabody String Sinfonia from 2019-2021 (a student-run conductor-less chamber orchestra that performs in non-traditional venues including rehab centers, cancer treatment facilities, and homeless shelters) as well as the Peabody Musician in Residence at Edenwald Senior Living Community where she played regularly for community members in exchange for free housing. Claire graduated from McGill University in ‘23 with a Graduate Diploma in Performance studying with Prof. Melancon. At McGill, Claire was a founding member of the Asteío Trio which was invited to Ísafjörður, Iceland in June 2023 to perform and teach at the Við Djúpið Festival.
When not playing violin, Claire loves to hike in the woods surrounding the lake by her house, read fantasy and Shakespeare, bake bread and scones, and spin and knit the wool from her sheep, Daisy, and alpaca, Steve.
What I Offer
Private Violin Lessons (In person and online)
30 minute lessons - $40 (for young beginners)
45 minute lessons - $53
60 minute lessons - $65
Chamber Music Coachings (In person and hybrid)
60 minute coaching - $30 per student
Pre-formed groups and individual applications are welcome. Information on chamber music workshops coming soon.
If you are interested in chamber music, but don’t know where to start, send me an email so we can chat!
For questions about lessons with Claire, or to schedule a discounted trial lesson, please fill out a contact form or email claire.honeyacres@gmail.com.
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Violin Concerto No.1 (2014) I. Allegro II. Grave III. Presto
Northern Skies (2017) I. Cirrus and Cirrostratus II. Nimbostratus III. Cumulus and Stratocumulus
Libera Me (2024)
Yearnings for Home (2024)