Meet Dr. Vanessa Deane

Dr. V was first exposed to the violin by the late Leonard Hirsch, and further cultivated her training with Hisako Renick through Juilliard's Music Advancement Program — an experience that instilled a lifelong devotion to the instrument and to the Suzuki philosophy of music as language, learned through listening, repetition, and love.

Music, though, wasn't Dr. V's only calling. A career in urban planning took her deep into community rebuilding, including redevelopment work following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, followed by a path in academic leadership.

Eventually, the pull back to the violin proved impossible to ignore. Violin teacher training became a personal act of self-actualization — and a way to give the next generation, including her own child, real exposure to Dr. Shinichi Suzuki's enduring philosophy of "character first, ability second" through music. Today, at Open String Violin Studio, that same spirit of patience, discipline, and joy shapes every lesson, for young beginners and adult learners alike.