Testimonials
"Hi, My name is Hannah. I am 10 years old. I met Mary-Beth at a music camp in 2019. I learned so much in one day in her class, she changed the whole mood and character of my piece. At the end of camp, I asked her to be my teacher. I love the way Mary-Beth teaches. When I started with her, I was in RCM level 5, now I'm in level 10. Mary-Beth opened me up to so many things in her group classes, boot camps, and seminars. I'm very happy I met her!"
— Hannah Kwan, Age 10
“ Mary-Beth possesses a rare combination of qualities: she is a patient, thoughtful, dedicated, and engaging teacher, who is also a master player! Although our daughters, aged 10 and 12, have very different personalities and needs, both respond to Mary-Beth's dynamic personality and honestly adore her! During lessons, she wastes no time identifying which spots to focus on, and then gives specific instructions about how to practice each one, so as to maximize our progress during the week. She accomplishes this with nothing but kindness, encouragement, and positivity! Both girls are beginning to play advanced repertoire, and they feel confident knowing that Mary-Beth, with all of her tools and experience, will be able to take them as far as they would like to go with the violin.”
— Michael LaCroix, PhD (music composition), piano teacher, dad
I really like Mary-Beth’s teaching because it’s easy to understand what she’s explaining. I’m so glad to be able to take lessons in Tampa where there’s not teachers like her and it feels like she’s in person with me even on zoom.”
— Amelie, age 12
I look at Mary-Beth with a big smile, shaking my head in disbelief, as once again, she has come up with a fun creative way to teach, to fix a problem, to engage a tired child, to explain a difficult concept. Sometimes I think Mary-Beth is a magician with a magical bottomless bag of tricks, tools, ideas, games and pedagogy. Really, she is a brilliant violinist and teacher, with many many years of experience; with science, skill and expertise behind what she does. She emanates kindness, beauty and encouragement as she motivates, challenges and inspires.
I am grateful every day that we have Mary-Beth guiding us on our musical journey.
— Karen Iny (mother of Tavli, Maya, Kaiko and Tierra)
“Mary Elizabeth Brown and Aviva Young Artists has encouraged and grown a deep love for the violin in my daughter's life. Almost every time I listen to her practice, I hear more beautiful tones than I did the last time. Thank you for impacting my girl as you do and allowing her to see a future in an exciting field! #futureviolinist #professional #performanceviolin #shecanteachtoo #5yrstraining”
— Julie Colvig
“We’ve been with Mary-Beth’s studio for almost two years. Teaching at such a high caliber, kids are lucky to experience her. Our daughter first met Mary-Beth when she was working her way through the third Suzuki book and now she’s learning advanced repertoire, was accepted into the Florida All-State Middle School Orchestra, and is thriving in her youth orchestra. Mary-Beth is the best kept secret around!”
— Susan and Todd Heine
“Mary-Elizabeth has taught two of my children violin since 2014. From the very first lesson, I was impressed with her expertise of the instrument, her ability to make a SKYPE lesson be effective and her obvious talent for teaching. As an educator myself, I value her teaching ability almost more than the rest of her strengths. Of course, her violin playing is flawless but Mary-Elizabeth has a teaching gift where she can subtly encourage a child (I’ve experienced her working with both elementary and high school ages), inspire a child while pushing him or her appropriately. Our family has seen our violinists grow under Mary-Elizabeth’s tutelage far beyond our expectations and we are extremely grateful! Working with Mary-Elizabeth has been an absolute pleasure!”
— Julie (mom)
“As a mature music student returning to the violin after several decades away from it, I was just thrilled to meet and work with Mary-Elizabeth Brown this past August. Her radiant smile and heart-full personality combined with her exceptional musical talent create something really quite extraordinary – something you just don’t find every day. In her teaching, her own passion for music and love of the violin come through in a way that is somehow contagious – and very inspiring. Watching Mary-Beth perform is such a breathtaking experience because the music from her violin originates in her heart. She is a vehicle for love - and it simply flows out through her music to everyone present. I was totally moved and uplifted in a way that is difficult to put into words. I think if you have the opportunity to study with Mary-Beth you should grab it – and know you are in for a truly unique and special experience.”
— Janet Matthews, Music Lover and Amateur Violinist. Canadian Co-author, Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul
“Mary Beth is a wonderful teacher, player, and human being. She possesses great knowledge beyond her years about life as well as music, and is generous in sharing what she knows to the benefit of inspiring her students to reach their range of individual goals. Mary Beth has achieved high level international performance experience as a soloist, concertmaster, section leader, and section player; she understands the varying demands of these different roles and can effectively communicate and convey salient details to her students, as relevant. She is also not only kind, thoughtful, and responsible - but fun!!! Having played and taught internationally extensively myself, I highly recommend Mary Beth as a teacher or performer without any reservation whatsoever.”
— Susan B.
“I will be forever grateful and I will never forget her advice. It truly made me a better player the instant she spoke to me. That’s just who she is: a fantastic educator and musician who helps you to be your best just by being around you.”
— Alyssa M.
“Mary-Elizabeth Brown is one of the most inspiring teachers I have had the privilege of studying under. Apart from being a fine performer she is also a teacher and mentor who has the knowledge, patience and that magic to make a positive change in you. I am very fortunate to have worked with her for many years now. Her way of approaching music both from a technical and musical perspective is really fantastic.”
— Arun Rozario
“Mary-Beth's approach to sound, music and the violin was a rare experience of brilliance. She considers the whole musical experience of playing the violin and makes it come alive in an inspiring and creative way. She encourages the player's relationship with the power and intimacy of sound and draws music out of each player through the violin. It was a musical pleasure to work with her. She sees past the drudgery of technique and uses repetition to awaken the player's response to the composer's intent on many levels. Rarely do you meet a teacher capable of capturing all elements of musical expression when studying an instrument. Anyone would be lucky to study with her.”
— Carol D.
“We’ve been working so hard to help Joshua learn to communicate better. I love overhearing these lessons where you draw the best out of him in his playing and in his responses!”
— Cynthia (Joshua’s Mom)
"Mary-Beth is a very talented teacher. She is caring, motivational and very knowledgeable in her field, with a huge passion for teaching. With her guidance, I grew as a violinist as well as a person. I gained skill and confidence in my playing, and she awakened in me a deeper appreciation for classical music. Any violinist who is fortunate enough to work with Mary-Beth will enjoy the same fantastic experience that I have had."
— Stephanie M.
“We have been studying with Mrs. Brown for 3 years now. She has the most wonderful positive attitude with kids: she is encouraging, aiming for the highest standards, but has so many different tools to break down the work in chewable chunks for younger ones. She makes violin fun, exciting, always new and wonderful. The children, not surprisingly, love her, and improve at a fantastic rate. We are very happy and feel very fortunate!”
— Hector Gaudet and Parents
“I've been taking lessons from Mary Beth for two years now. I am a non-traditional student, having started playing more than 40 years later than what is traditionally considered the "ideal" to start the violin. I'm also in a non-ideal location, being 20 minutes from the nearest gas station, let alone violin instructor.
I had always loved the violin, but always felt it was out of my reach, both due to my age and location. I can now see progress and my goals have expanded from simply hoping to maybe be able to play a few fiddle tunes to hopefully tackling more and more difficult repertoire than I ever thought I'd be able to play.
Mary-Beth is a joy to work with and is a highlight of my week. Her positive attitude is infectious, and her love of teaching definitely shines through.”
— Dave Mahoney
“With Mary-Beth I learned again to love practicing. Practicing a technical drill should not be a burden, and Mary-Beth taught me to first understand how my brain and hands perceive the drill so I then I can practice it along with them, not against them. With Mary-Beth I am learning to play the pieces that we study together, in my own way, according to the way that I feel them. It’s been more than an year of joy and pleasure to work together with my dear teacher!”