Cecilia Calvelo
Cecilia Calvelo-Hopkins is an Argentine-Spanish violinist, disciple of Symzia Bajour, who came to the US in January 1993 to study Violin with Cathy Robinson and Felicia Moye at the New World School of the Arts (Miami, FL). Now residing in Austin, TX Cecilia teaches Suzuki Violin, Viola, and Suzuki ECE classes in her Suzuki studio Clave de Sol. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Ed from the University of Houston, and a MA in Early Music from San Francisco State University, from where she graduated with honors. Since 1996 Cecilia has done extensive Suzuki training in the US, Brazil, and Europe and among her Teacher Trainers are Cathy Lee, Donna Lim, Yuko Honda, Barbara Barber, Alice Joy Lewis, Laurie Scott, Doris Preucil, and Dorothy Jones. Cecilia is also an Orff trained music teacher, having studied Orff method in Austria, at the Mozarteum Salzburg Institute, and in California with James Harding and Heidi Tzortzis. She is also a Pre-K through 12th TX Certified Music Teacher and a TX Certified Bilingual Teacher.
Cecilia has worked as a String Instructor and an Orchestra Teacher Assistant in several Middle and High School orchestra programs in the following school districts: San Francisco USD, Houston ISD, Austin ISD, and Round Rock ISD. Besides teaching and managing her own Suzuki studio since 1996, she has served as Violin faculty of Monarch Suzuki Academy, Violin/Viola faculty of the Suzuki school “Cuatro Cuerdas” in Madrid, Spain, and has been the recipient of the “Teacher Training Award for International Outreach” from the American Suzuki Institute in 2008 at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. Cecilia has been a visiting speaker and clinician for the Texas State University String Project in San Marcos, Manor ISD String Fest, Austin SoundWaves orchestra program, and at the International Suzuki Festival of Lima, Peru.
Besides teaching Suzuki Violin and Suzuki ECE classes Cecilia loves languages and speaks Spanish, English, Italian, and Portuguese and enjoys performing chamber music and Tango. She has worked developing Early Childhood Music curriculum in Spanish not only for her own studio but also for Armstrong Community Music School (“Canta y Habla”) and for Velocity Music Academy. Her Spanish curriculum, called “Musiqueros” was created in Spain when her children were babies. Cecilia collaborates with the Suzuki Association of the Americas translating various materials and together with Janet Spencer, a dear friend from Madrid, Cecilia translated to Spanish Shinichi Suzuki’s “Nurtured by Love” that Summy-Birchard printed in 2004. She is an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas (SAA), the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), and the Greater Austin Suzuki Association (GASA). Last, but not least, Cecilia is the proud Suzuki teacher and parent of her children who play Suzuki cello and violin.