String Instrument Instructors
Peter Skaar holds a Masters of Music from the Hartt School of Music and a Bachelors in Music Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. Peter is also a graduate of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts. Starting piano at age 7 and later cello at age 11 Mr. Skaar has over 18 years of musical experience. His major teachers include Terry King Professor of cello at the Hartt School and Longy school of music, Clyde Thomas Shaw Retired Professor of Cello at Shenandoah Conservatory and member of the former Audubon String Quartet, as well as David Cole Cello Professor at Lynn Conservatory.
As a performer Peter has been a part of the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jan Wagner and the Hartt School Symphony Orchestra lead by Edward Cumming, also having attended Eastern Music Festival Lead by Gerard Schwarz. His Chamber music experiences include having studied under the direction of the now disbanded Audubon String Quartet and the professors at the Hartt School of music. Peter has also attended the Castleman Quartet Program studying with some of the top chamber music players in the country.
As a teacher, Peter has experience working with all ages and levels of player. He believes that each student’s needs are unique and that with enough dedication anyone can become a musician. “There are only two rules I have in my lessons. A student needs to learn something and the student should have fun during learning.”
PAs an active performer, violinist Julie Haring has performed throughout the United States, Denmark, The Czech Republic, and Hungary. While pursuing her Bachelors degree in Violin Performance at Bradley University, she performed in the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Bradley Symphony Orchestra, and was first violinist of the Hilltop String Quartet. Currently she performs in regional orchestras throughout Connecticut, including the New Britain Symphony and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. In June, she won the concertmaster position with the Connecticut Valley Symphony Orchestra.
In competition, Julie has won the 2014 Bradley University concerto competition and has been selected as a finalist in the Delta Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition in both 2016 and 2017. In March 2017, her Piano Trio was awarded third prize in the annual Hartt School Chamber Music Competition in Hartford, Connecticut. In April 2018, she was the featured alumni soloist with the Kankakee Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, of which she participated in throughout high school. In addition to competitions and solo appearances, she has attended the Arianna Chamber Music Festival in St. Louis, Missouri and ARIA International Summer Academy in Massachusetts. Julie received her Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance in 2016 from Bradley University and studied violin with Marcia Henry Liebenow and her Masters of Music in Violin Performance in May 2018 at The Hartt School under the study of Anton Miller. In the fall, she will be continuing her studies at The Hartt School to pursue her Doctor of Musical Arts degree.
Graham Woodland is an active performer and teacher based in New England. As an orchestral musician, Graham was recently named Assistant Concertmaster of the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, serves as Concertmaster of the Hartt Orchestra, and is also a member of the New Britain Symphony and other Connecticut regional orchestras. He has appeared as soloist with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, University of Missouri Philharmonic, MU Chamber Orchestra, and will solo with the Hartt’s Contemporary Ensemble, Foot in the Door, this fall. He has been a winner and finalist at numerous competitions including the Music Teacher’s National Association Young Artist Competition, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition, MU Concerto Competition, and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. Summer Festivals attended include the Innsbrook Institute Academy and Festival, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and the Texas Music Festival.
As a teacher, Graham has extensive experience working with children and adults of all levels on both violin and piano. Graham’s pre-college violin students have earned leadership positions in prestigious youth orchestra programs, including the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Missouri All-State Orchestra, and have had success in State and National level competitions. Always looking to expand his teaching knowledge, Graham is currently completing his Suzuki training at the Hartt School with Christie Felsing and Teri Einfeldt.
A passionate chamber musician, Graham has coached chamber music with members of the Emerson, Jasper, and Heath Quartets, as well as members of the Berlin Philharmonic and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He recently graduated from the University of Missouri where he was a student of Eva Szekely, and is currently a student at the Hartt School studying with Katie Lansdale on a full scholarship.