Private
Lessons

Our lessons focus on creating a joyful relationship with music and a healthy approach to our instruments.

Meet our teachers

Willauer Studios offers weekly private lessons from highly-trained artist teachers. Our lessons focus on creating a joyful relationship with music and a healthy approach to our instruments. Injury and burnout are all too common in our field, and we are committed to holistic teaching that creates well-rounded artists.

We offer one-on-one lessons online and in Cleveland, Ohio for students of all levels and abilities. Our lessons are 30, 45, or 60 minutes long, and our teachers are all registered educators with the International Suzuki Association.

What is the
Suzuki Method?

The Suzuki Method was developed in Japan in the 1930s by violinist and educator Shinichi Suzuki, who observed that children learn their native language naturally through listening, imitation, repetition, and encouragement. He called this the “Mother Tongue” approach.

At Willauer Studios, we apply these principles to cello study with an emphasis on beautiful sound, thoughtful practice, confident musicianship, and developing the whole child. As Suzuki said, “First character, then ability.”

For more information about the Suzuki Method, please visit the Suzuki Association’s webpage.

Meet Our Teachers

Sarah Tindall

Cellist Sarah Tindall inspires wonder in audiences of all types through her rich sound and ability to speak through her instrument (NPR’s From the Top). Drawn in by the cello’s sound in a quartet performance, Sarah’s musical journey began at the age of 5, leading her from the plains of Nebraska to the Juilliard Pre-College Program in New York City, bringing opportunities to play with the world's top musicians and conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Nora Willauer

Nora Willauer, D.M.A., is a cellist and dynamic music educator based in Cleveland, Ohio, and Midcoast Maine. She completed her doctoral studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Dr. Melissa Kraut and Mark Kosower. Nora’s culminating lecture recital explored the relationship between groove and classical cello pedagogy, and her work was awarded CIM’s Kaplow prize for uncommon creativity.

JOYFUL CELLO EDUCATION

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JOYFUL CELLO EDUCATION 〰️

What’s Included?

Enrollment in private lessons includes access to a weekly lesson time in your primary teacher’s calendar. You have free access to our weekly performance lab on Wednesdays at 6pm, and free access to our twice-per-year solo recitals.

About Group Programs

Tuition & Pricing

Lessons are billed using flat-rate tuition. This means you are charged a flat rate once per month all year long. Payment information must be kept up to date in MakeMusicStudio, and payment will be processed automatically.

$215/ 
month

30 min Lessons

$285/ 
month

45 min Lessons

$350/ 
month

60 min Lessons

Our Policies

Because flat-rate tuition reserves your weekly spot in Ms. Sarah’s schedule, we do not offer makeups for student absences. With 24 hours of notice, teachers can use your lesson time to:
- Watch recorded videos and provide feedback.
- Record requested practice videos.
- Add bowings/fingerings to your music.
Makeup lessons are offered when your teacher needs to reschedule your lesson.
If you or your student is experiencing a fever, vomiting, a contagious illness, or is otherwise too sick to participate productively, please switch to a virtual lesson (see below) or cancel the lesson.
If you are not feeling well or the weather is bad, we highly encourage you to switch to a virtual lesson. Ms. Sarah will help you get this set up. :)
Questions regarding billing should be directed to Nora Willauer: emwillauer@gmail.com (207-706-9282). For questions about your student's musical progress, goals, or lesson content, contact Ms. Sarah.
All lessons will be scheduled and managed through MakeMusicStudio. Families can view lesson times, receive reminders, and manage their schedule through the parent portal.

Student Spotlight

Gavin Christian

Howard University, music business major & principal cello of the Howard Symphony Orchestra
Evan Tanko

Eastman School of Music, cello performance and engineering double major