STUDIO

Studio

ABOUT THE TEACHER


Since 1986, Mark Pfannschmidt has taught violin and viola for students ages four to adult. His students have won auditions in youth orchestras in Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and also the Maryland All-State Orchestras. Since 2001, he has been on the faculty of the National Philharmonic Summer String Institutes, teaching violin, viola, chamber music, and music theory classes. He was awarded 2011 Teacher of the Year for the MD/DC Chapter of the American String Teachers Association.


Mr. Pfannschmidt began his musical study with violin and piano while still in elementary school. He switched from violin to viola as a young teenager. He has also studied voice, harp and harpsichord. In the end, he chose to focus on the viola, because of its rich tone and unusual repertoire--and the employment prospects were much better!


He completed his last two years of pre-college musical training at the Interlochen Arts Academy. From there he went to the Peabody Conservatory, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance. He earned his Master of Music degree from The Catholic University of America. He was also the recipient of a String Quartet Fellowship at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he completed one year of doctoral studies. His principal teachers were David Holland, Karen Tuttle, Jody Gatwood and Gerald Fischbach. Always looking to improve his skills as a teacher, Mr. Pfannschmidt has taken teaching courses from Ronda Cole and Rebecca Henry, with ongoing education at conferences and workshops, including 2 Rolland Workshops, 2 ASTA National Conferences, 2 American Viola Society Congresses and 2 Early Music on Modern Instruments workshops. In addition, he has added music theory instruction to his studio offerings, using the Ultimate Music Theory curriculum. He is an Ultimate Music Theory Certified teacher and has also completed the Ultimate Music Theory Complete Course, earning First Class Honors with Distinction on all of his exams.


He has been a violist in the National Philharmonic for more than 35 years. He is a former principal violist of the Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Chamber Orchestra. For most of the 1990's, he was a violist in the US Marine Chamber Orchestra and regularly performed for White House functions.


He and Laura, his wife of more than 30 years, have two adult children: Jason and Emily.

Studio PolicY

  • TUITION AND FEES

    (Rates effective September 2022)


    Since I am now living in Walkersville, Maryland (10 minutes north of downtown Frederick), I have made changes to the tuition plans for 2022-23. I  teach one day a week in Montgomery County, Maryland until the end of the Spring Quarter in May, 2023. There will be three 11-week sessions:

    • Fall Quarter (Aug 30 to Nov 18, 2022)
    • Winter Quarter (Nov 29, 2022 to Feb 24, 2023)
    • Spring Quarter (Feb 28 to June 2, 2023)

    Students will receive further updates as more information becomes available.


    Tuition plans:

      1. Full quarter payment (with a $25 tuition discount per quarter)

      2. Three equal monthly installments during the quarter (the last installment is paid in May)


    Similar options will be offered to new students who begin after the start of the school year.


    45 Minute Lessons are offered for beginning students in any grade up to the early concerto level. $75 per lesson.


    60 Minute Lessons are for students at the level of early concertos and above. $95 per lesson.


    Theory Classes are charged at the rate of $40 for 45-minute class or $50 per  60-minute class. Classes are 45-minutes weekly through Prep 2; at Basic Rudiments they become 60-minutes weekly.


    Private theory lessons are charged at the same rate as other private lessons.


    Recital Fees are $50 per family per quarter for a studio recital, whether or not they are able to participate. This fee is charged at the beginning of the quarter.

  • ABSENCES

    Bad Weather

    If there is bad weather, we will plan to have our lessons online. Please contact me as soon as possible so that we can make plans.


    Teacher Absences

    I have allowed for planned for absences during the school year by charging you for 11 lessons out of 11-13 lessons planned. (I will make a similar plan for those who begin after the beginning of the quarter.) In the unlikely event that I miss more than one lesson, either makeup lessons or tuition credits will be given.


    Student Illnesses

    Students who have communicable diseases or are too sick to have a lesson should not come. They will not receive a makeup lesson. If a student has an extended illness or injury, please call me so we can make plans. I am willing to teach an online lesson for a student who is otherwise well enough to benefit from a lesson.


    Other Student Absences

    If a student cannot come for a regular lesson, contact me at least one week in advance so we can reschedule the lesson. I do not offer credits. I only offer two makeup lessons for excused student absences; absences in excess of two will not be made up.

  • PRACTICE

    Thoughtful repetition is the key to success. Students should practice at least five days each week. With a first year student, 20 to 30 minutes a day is usually enough. In the second year, a daily minimum of 45 minutes is expected. Intermediate students should be practicing at least one hour each day. Advanced students should plan their schedules so they can practice even more. Learning to practice regularly is part of studying an instrument. I may ask a student with a pattern of poor preparation to stop taking lessons until they can demonstrate better habits.

  • AUDITIONS AND PERFORMANCES

    Students are encouraged to play for others, as long as they are ready to present a performance that their audience will enjoy. Let me know about upcoming auditions or performances so the student can be well prepared. I give regular studio recitals.

  • MATERIALS

    Students must have a well-maintained instrument and bow of the correct size, extra strings and rosin in the case. I will let you know what music is needed. For practice at home, the student will need a music stand, metronome and tuner.

  • SUMMER LESSONS

    Summer can be a great time for rapid progress. Many students have more time for practice. Students who are in town and do not take summer lessons may lose a place in my fall schedule. I will give students who study in the summer priority in my fall schedule.

STUDENT SUCCESS

  • 2022 Achievements

    RCM EXAMS

    First Class Honors with Distinction

    Wendy Cheng, Music Theory, Level 5

    Avery Chupka, Music Theory, Level 5

    Avery Chupka, Music Theory, Level 6

    David Zaff, Viola, Level 1


    First Class Honors

    Wendy Cheng, Viola, Level 6

    Adrienne Choe, Viola, Level 3

    Aditi Vanga, Violin, Level 3

  • 2021 Achievements

    ONLINE RCM EXAMS

    (Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Canada)


    First Class Honors with Distinction

    Mireya Graff, Violin, Preparatory Level

       Regional Gold Medal, Northeastern US


    First Class Honors

    Arush Arora, Viola, Level 6

    Adrienne Choe, Viola, Level 2

    Avery Chupka, Violin, Level 4

    Cally Mosman, Viola, Level 7

    Aditi Vanga, Violin, Level 2

    Jeffrey Yang, Music Theory, Level 5

    Lumina Zhang, Viola, Level 6


    Honors

    Nanda Kota, Violin, Level 7

    Rosemary Yang, Viola, Level 8


    YOUTH ORCHESTRAS


    Maryland Senior All-State Orchestra

    Michael Wang, viola


    MCYO

    Arush Arora, Kamarata!, viola

    Cally Mosman, Kamarata!, viola

    Michael Wang, Chamber Ensemble, viola

    Rosemary Yang, Philharmonic, viola

    Jenny Zhao, Symphony, viola


    PVYO

    Adrienne Choe, Concert, viola

  • 2020 Achievements

    Summer 2020 RCM Exams

    (Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada)


    First Class Honors

    Wendy Cheng, Viola, Level 5

    Lumina Zhang, Viola, Level 5


    First Class Honors with Distinction

    Arush Arora, Viola, Level 5

    Michael Wang, Viola, Level 7


    Youth Orchestra

    MCYO

    Philharmonic

    Rosemary Yang, viola


    Symphony

    Arush Arora, viola

    Michael Wang, viola

  • 2019 Achievements

    December 2019 RCM Exams 

    (Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada)

    Honors

    Nanda Kota, Violin, Level 6


    First Class Honors

    Adrienne Choe, Viola, Level 1

    Lumina Zhang, Viola, Level 4

    Cally Mosman, Viola, Level 6

    Rosemary Yang, Viola, Level 7


    Youth Orchestra

    PVYO

    Philharmonia

    Audrey Tagg, violin


    Symphony

    Arush Arora, viola


    MCYO

    Chamber Ensemble

    Rosemary Yang, viola


    Symphony

    Zachary Edenbaum, violin

    Michael Wang, viola


    FRYO

    Nanda Kota, violin

  • 2018 Achievements

    Youth Orchestras

    MCYO

    Young Artist

    Michael Wang, principal  viola 


    PVYO

    Philharmonia

    Audrey Tagg, violin


    Symphony

    Zachary Edenbaum, violin

    Rosemary Yang, principal viola


    Sr. All-County

    Linnea Nave Griesmann, viola


    Jr. All-County

    Zachary Edenbaum, violin

    Rosemary Yang, viola


    Jr. All-State

    Rosemary Yang, viola

  • 2017 Achievements

    PVYO

    Concert

    Zachary Edenbaum, violin


    Sinfonia

    Rosemary Yang, principal viola 


    MCYO

    Chamber Strings

    Michael Wang, principal viola

  • FORMER STUDENTS

    Former students who have completed or are pursuing advanced studies on their instrument:


    Neil Chopra (viola) - is a viola performance major at Mannes School of Music in New York.


    Patrick Sykes (viola) - graduated from Towson University with a minor in viola performance. He was a student of Dr. Sherry Norwitz.


    Hannah Cohen (violin) - graduated from West Virginia University with a BS in biomedical/medical engineering. Due to her advanced ability on the violin, she received a substantial scholarship.


    Christopher Lock (viola) - graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in 2013 and the Peabody Institute in 2017. He completed a BM with a double major in Viola Performance and Computer Music Composition. He studied viola with Renee Skerik at IAA and Victoria Chiang and Richard Field at Peabody. He is currently pursuing graduate studies at Harvard and has completed many composition projects for film.


    Stephan Loh (viola) - spent three years in the National Symphony Youth Fellowship Program where he studied with William Foster. He graduated from UMD with a BS in computer science, where he minored in viola performance with Katherine Murdoch.

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