TEACHING WITH DEVOTION BY OLIVIA LOGRASSO
Crepe myrtles line the pathway as I walk to the front door of the stately home with white columns. The recently cut lawn, damp with dew, smells fresh and green. A large American flag on the house waves in the morning breeze. I ring the bell, and am promptly greeted by Sonja Foster, who is smartly dressed and very professional in her manner. “ Hi, how are you?” she asks, smiling warmly. I walk into Sonja’s office - a small room with a music stand, a chair and a large bookshelf - and set my violin down. The bookshelf contains everything from biographies of famous composers and musicians to “ The Bobbi Brown Guide to Beauty.” There are framed awards won by Sonja’s students for various competitions.
“ Go ahead and tune, I’ll be with you in a minute, " Sonja says, as she prepares for the lesson. As I take out my violin, I hear Sonja talking to her dog- a large black Newfoundland named Nicole. In Sonja’s studio, there is a stand. I put my music books on it as Sonja fixes her tea. After I play my scales, Sonja provides me with feedback. “Ok, bring out your Bach piece,” she says.
Sonja’s musical career officially began when she started taking piano lessons at age five, practicing three hours a day as directed by her teacher. When she was seven, she took up the violin. Displaying great potential and talent, Sonja was accepted as a pupil of the finest violin teacher in Chicago at age nine. Debuting with a local symphony, Sonja played the Wieniawski d minor Violin Concerto. Three years later, Sonja began studying violin with Ivan Galamian, who taught Itzhak Perlman and founded Meadowmount, a summer camp in New York for gifted music students. Subsequently, Sonja studied at the Juilliard School of Music.
“ You’re doing well, Olivia, “ Sonja says when I finish the Bach, “ but I wish you could make the piece sing more,” and “ I want to hear your voice in it.” Sonja settles into a chair in the studio as I play it through the second time. “ Did you hear the difference,” Sonja asks excitedly. “ I could really hear your voice coming out in it that time.”
The words Sonja chooses, like “ make this piece sing more,” and “ I want to hear your voice” help her students visualize the sounds she wants them to create. It is her ability to communicate that makes her an outstanding teacher. While in New York, Sonja renewed her commitment to God by joining the Calvary Baptist Church. She read the Bible studiously every day, having been challenged by the church’s pastor to make Christ Lord of her life. She continued to perform and moved back to Chicago, teaching at Trinity and Wheaton Colleges. While in Chicago, she married. Tragedy struck in 1980 when her only brother Lawrence, a cellist who had soloed with the New York Philharmonic at age 13, was murdered in Atlanta. After his death, Sonja found comfort in various Bible passages. A year later, Sonja’s pregnancy ended abruptly. She was hospitalized with eclampsia for 49 days. When she learned of the high mortality rate from this illness, she felt that a miracle had kept her alive. Four years later, Sonja’s marriage crumbled, but again she turned to God for solace.
Setting aside her cup of tea, Sonja asks me to play Bruch’s Violin Concerto No.1. “Can you do something with this passage? Make it more ...musical?” Sonja picks up her violin to demonstrate. The moment her bow touches the string, a complete transformation occurs. No longer is Sonja the motherly, sensitive parent. She becomes a performer, intense and passionate, filling each note with emotion and brilliance. She stands upright, the very epitome of precision and accuracy. Her tone is rich and vibrant as she plays a particularly radiant section. Suddenly, she becomes another personality as she plays a melodic, lyrical segment. The sound of her violin is heartbreakingly warm and tender, but not overly sentimental. I watch her, spellbound, gaining an entirely new insight on the piece.
While on a single’s retreat with her church, Sonja met her husband whom she later married.
Sonja’s remarkable teaching has helped her students become successful. One student recently recently won First Place at the Music Teacher’s National Association competition. She has taught numerous Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra concertmasters. One of Sonja’s former students, a child prodigy from Korea, now studies at Juilliard under Itzhak Perlman.
Sonja’s career highlights include her performances with her brother, Lawrence, and playing the Sibelius Violin concerto with Mehli Mehta (Zubin’s father). “I loved every concert- touching hearts- making people cry, “ says Sonja. She remembers the day that she spoke at the 2001 MTNA Convention on teaching gifted children. The members of the Ying Quartet, whom Sonja taught, did a tribute to her at the beginning of their concert in front of all the MTNA members. Another important time was when she was publicly recognized and applauded by Dorothy Delay (a famous violin teacher) at a Juilliard seminar in 2001.
The lesson over, I put my violin away. While Sonja talks to my mom at the door, I think about why I enjoy the lessons so much. Every time I’m at Sonja’s house, I feel cared for. To Sonja, a student isn’t just another kid plugging away at the violin. Each student is an individual with unique thoughts and feelings. Her praise gives me incentive to work harder. When Sonja knows I can play better, she lets me know in a way that is not too harsh, but enough to provide me with motivation to work harder. This is another of Sonja’s gifts-the ability to balance praise and criticism in a way that brings out the best in everyone.
Olivia Lograsso, 2002
From Chattanooga, Tn. when she studied with Sonja Web Content Specialist, Indiana University. Violinist. Composer.
ella.ils.indiana.edu/~olosgras/index.html
by Olivia Lograsso,
http://ella.ils.indiana.edu/~ologras/index.htmlhttp
ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN MY LIFE
"I demand the same as any Juilliard teacher would." These were the first words that I heard from my future violin teacher, Sonja Foster. Her second statement was, "You must practice a minimum of two hours a day." I was intimidated, to say the least. Before her, I barely practiced an hour a day, and I was not even thinking about majoring in music. Yet, I knew that she was a good teacher, so I plunged ahead. Little did I know that along with violin lessons, Sonja would teach me lessons of a lifetime.
I was having many problems during the fall of 1996. For some reason, my self-confidence plummeted as Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO) auditions approached. I had made ASYO the previous year, but somehow I was still worried that I would not make it again. No matter how many hours I practiced a day, I still could not seem to master the audition excerpts. There were even times when I wanted to give up and forget about ASYO and the violin, yet Sonja was always with me. Like a coach, she was always ready to encourage me and to critique my mistakes. "I know you can do it," she would say, "you have to focus. You know how you want to play it, every single note; you have to concentrate."
There is one particular lesson I remember. After playing horribly for the whole lesson, I was so upset that I started crying. Sonja did not scold me or think less of me. She listened to my concerns and helped me analyze what was wrong. She told me, "You have to block out all the negative thoughts and only concentrate on the positive ones; when you ask yourself questions, always answer positively." Although I left the lesson feeling somewhat embarrassed, her words inspired me. Part of me kept telling me I was a horrible player. I did not notice it consciously, but subconsciously it took its toll on my self-esteem. I have always been hard on myself there is invariably room for improvement. I had not realized that my fastidiousness was out of control though. I was not critiquing myself anymore; I was mentally abusing myself. Sonja helped me recognize that problem and also helped me to think more positively.
I cannot say that I am a completely confident person now. I still lapse into times when I feel that I am playing poorly. However, with Sonja's guidance, I am learning to analyze my problems instead of just saying "it is all wrong" and becoming upset over it. This year, as ASYO auditions roll around again, I have been doing progressively better. Whenever a negative thought enters my head, I push it out of my mmd and try to understand the problem instead. I do not blindly believe that I sound great; I just realize that berating myself is not the way to solve a problem. I know that without Sonja's help, I would never have realized what I was doing to myself.
There is one piece of advice that Sonja still tells me when I start cutting myself down: "Treat yourself like you would treat your child. Your mind is like a child. You would never say what you say to yourself to a child, would you?" My mind and self-esteem are like children, very easily hurt when the wrong statement is said. I finally realized that berating myself was wrong after starting lessons with Sonja, and I am eternally grateful to her for teaching me this valuable lesson.
~By Ginger Perng
"I demand the same as any Juilliard teacher would." These were the first words that I heard from my future violin teacher, Sonja Foster. Her second statement was, "You must practice a minimum of two hours a day." I was intimidated, to say the least. Before her, I barely practiced an hour a day, and I was not even thinking about majoring in music. Yet, I knew that she was a good teacher, so I plunged ahead. Little did I know that along with violin lessons, Sonja would teach me lessons of a lifetime.
I was having many problems during the fall of 1996. For some reason, my self-confidence plummeted as Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra (ASYO) auditions approached. I had made ASYO the previous year, but somehow I was still worried that I would not make it again. No matter how many hours I practiced a day, I still could not seem to master the audition excerpts. There were even times when I wanted to give up and forget about ASYO and the violin, yet Sonja was always with me. Like a coach, she was always ready to encourage me and to critique my mistakes. "I know you can do it," she would say, "you have to focus. You know how you want to play it, every single note; you have to concentrate."
There is one particular lesson I remember. After playing horribly for the whole lesson, I was so upset that I started crying. Sonja did not scold me or think less of me. She listened to my concerns and helped me analyze what was wrong. She told me, "You have to block out all the negative thoughts and only concentrate on the positive ones; when you ask yourself questions, always answer positively." Although I left the lesson feeling somewhat embarrassed, her words inspired me. Part of me kept telling me I was a horrible player. I did not notice it consciously, but subconsciously it took its toll on my self-esteem. I have always been hard on myself there is invariably room for improvement. I had not realized that my fastidiousness was out of control though. I was not critiquing myself anymore; I was mentally abusing myself. Sonja helped me recognize that problem and also helped me to think more positively.
I cannot say that I am a completely confident person now. I still lapse into times when I feel that I am playing poorly. However, with Sonja's guidance, I am learning to analyze my problems instead of just saying "it is all wrong" and becoming upset over it. This year, as ASYO auditions roll around again, I have been doing progressively better. Whenever a negative thought enters my head, I push it out of my mmd and try to understand the problem instead. I do not blindly believe that I sound great; I just realize that berating myself is not the way to solve a problem. I know that without Sonja's help, I would never have realized what I was doing to myself.
There is one piece of advice that Sonja still tells me when I start cutting myself down: "Treat yourself like you would treat your child. Your mind is like a child. You would never say what you say to yourself to a child, would you?" My mind and self-esteem are like children, very easily hurt when the wrong statement is said. I finally realized that berating myself was wrong after starting lessons with Sonja, and I am eternally grateful to her for teaching me this valuable lesson.
~By Ginger Perng