“One of my primary objectives in teaching is to promote music as a vehicle for non-verbal and artistic expression. Every child is unique, so I adapt my teaching method and lesson plan to fit the personality, learning style and mood of each individual student. My teaching curriculum is centered around many of my personal childhood experiences and hurdles that I had to overcome. I hope to constructively impart this knowledge to my students so that they have the necessary tools to succeed, both artistically and intellectually. It is my duty to act not only as their instructor, but also as their mentor, role model and inspiration.”
About
Education
D.M.A., University of Colorado, Boulder
M.M., University of Colorado, Boulder
B.A., University of Texas, Austin
Affiliations
HMTA, Suzuki Association of Hawaii, Hawaii American String Teachers Association, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Registered Suzuki Teacher with the SAA
Biography
Violinist Dr. Nikki (Routman) Ebisu enjoys a distinguished career as a teacher, performer and clinician. Her collaborative chamber music and orchestral performances have taken her all across the globe, from Europe, the USA and Asia.
As an active music educator, she is in large demand in Hawaii -- both as a Japanese bilingual violin instructor and also as one of the few remaining to have studied directly with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki Method. Dr. Ebisu specializes in violin education for students ages 3 and up. She has experience working with violin students with special needs and learning disabilities including: dyslexia, discalculia, Autism spectrum disorder, Aspergers, ADHD/ADD and OCD.
Her students have won high recognition in many concerts and competitions, and have been prizewinners of the Hawaii State Competition, Osaka International Music Competition, the Oahu Center Mozart Competition, the National MTNA String Competitions, the Iolani School Senior Concerto Competition, and others. Her students have appeared as soloists with the Maui Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition have been invited to participate in Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra (NYO) and (NYO2) program for several years. Many students are members of the highly competitive Hawaii Youth Symphony program, several in Concertmaster positions over the years. Her students have performed in masterclasses for notable artists including Sarah Chang, Ray Chen, Robert McDuffie, Midori, Martin Beaver, Chee-Yun, Augustin Hadelich, Wei He, Paul Katz, Amy Moretti, Eric Silberger, Joseph Swensen, Victor Yampolsky, the Cavani Quartet and others.
On the performance stage, Dr. Ebisu is currently a violinist with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra and Maui Pops Orchestra. She has held positions in the Honolulu Symphony, Hawaii Pops Orchestra with Matt Catingub, World Symphony Orchestra (South Korea), Austin (TX) Symphony, Cheyenne (WY) Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Fort Collins (CO) Symphony, Greeley (CO) Philharmonic and Temple (TX) Symphony. She has also performed with the Colorado MahlerFest, Charleston (SC) Symphony, Boulder (CO) Philharmonic and Corpus Christi (TX) Symphony. She participated in various summer festivals including Interlochen, the International Music Festival in Portugal and Colorado Music Festival, and was invited to perform at the 2005 Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar in San Fransisco as the "Emerging String Quartet" Winner.
Dr. Ebisu holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and Pre-Medicine from the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Masters in Music and Doctorate in Music Arts (Violin Performance) degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her primary violin teachers include Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, Sumiko Edo, John Arnold, Dr. Eugene Gratovich and Oswald Lehnert. Some of her greatest influences in Suzuki pedagogy were with Liz Arbus, Helen Brunner, Ed Kreitman, Ellie LeRoux, Allen Lieb, Nancy Lokken and Ed Sprunger.
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This directory is service provided to teaching members of the Hawaii Music Teachers Association and to the Hawaii community. While HMTA will do its best to connect Hawaii violin students with local violin teachers, the responsibility for fulfillment and content of violin lessons, as well as safety, rests solely with the individual teachers. If you are a violin teacher in Hawaii and would like to be listed in this directory, please consider becoming a member.