Hodaya Weltz on the importance of a teacher's influence

As an 8 year old kid, I already knew what I wanted to do in life. Filling my head up with music. For a whole year I’d talked my mom into putting me in music school. She finally said yes to it. I started learning to play the cello and fell in love with it. Every day I put my mother or grandmother in front of me and played for them. And so it continued for a year or two...

In our music school, the teachers were often changed, were poorly qualified and disinterested in their work or their students. My motivation had worn off. I probably would have finished school one day and kept the cello. But...

When I was in 5th grade, Valery Valentinovich Demin came to us. He worked at the Kostroma Music School and was looking for future students. This is a teacher who knows and loves his job. He took our lessons very seriously, motivated and demanded, and most importantly, “reminded” me of my vocation.

I believe that a child who studies music can develop his/her potential if he/she is lucky enough to meet “their” teacher. I am a lucky one . Valery Valentinovich became “my” teacher for me! He knew how to fascinate, lead, pass on his skills and experience, be authoritative and fun.

Thus he taught me:
“... Playing the cello, you need to feel physical relaxation, but at the same time time strength. You need to feel even the smallest joints, which we usually don't think about. Then the feeling of transferring body weight to an instrument will fill you with joy. You will feel the cello is part of you. ”

“... During play, mind and concentration become very sharp and rise to a completely different level, which includes emotions and temperament. And that's where control is important. You need to learn to keep under control the strong emotions that music can cause, and decide every minute how much energy to give to music, and how much - to sanity and technical requirements. ”

“... Music is a gift from God and playing the cello is the best way to enrich your life and the lives of others. ”

PS: I became a professional cellist.

She graduated from the Kostroma Music School, the Russian Academy of Music named after Gnesiny, graduated from Hokhshul in Munich. She worked in large symphony orchestras of Russia and Europe. Recently moved to Israel she develops various projects and teaches.