Begin Nora
Begin is a born and raised Pacific Northwest musician with a strong passion for making music accessible to all people. After graduating from Pacific Lutheran University in 2001, she started to perform with Symphony Tacoma and is currently the concertmaster of the Seattle Rock Orchestra. Along with performing, Begin teaches hundreds of students every week through her work with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras, Seattle Public Schools, Edmonds School District, and her private studio. Over the last 15 years of teaching, she has taught people from ages 4 to 85 and has worked with students who have different challenges, such as hearing impairment, vision impairment, ADHD, anxiety, and depression. Begin strives to make music learning fun and rewarding and always works to find the best method for each unique student.
Lesson Inquiry: beginmscarseth@gmail.com
Elise Yi
Elise Yi began playing music at the age of 7, when she started taking piano lessons. She then continued to learn other instruments, beginning with violin in 6th grade, viola during her junior year of high school as part of the Cascade Youth Symphony Chamber Music Program, and cello. While a student, Elise played violin as her primary instrument, becoming Principal Second Violin for Edmonds-Woodway Symphonic and Philharmonic Orchestras. During this time, she also played for musical productions under Mark Press at the Driftwood Theater and Madrona, and volunteered two summers as a teaching assistant with the Edmonds Summer Music School. Elise currently plays viola with the Vilächel String Quartet, and enjoys working with the Rainbow City Orchestra as their assistant director. Her performance experiences within different ensembles has supported her growth as violist and violinist and has inspired her to study music education to become an orchestra director and to continue to inspire students of her own.
Lesson Inquiry: eliseyi98@gmail.com
Sarah Mahoney
Sarah Mahoney started PSMA with a mission to bring the best collaborative music education to students of all ages. She believes there is no age too young to begin playing, performing, and building confidence through student collaboration. She has performed with the Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Pacific University Orchestra, Seattle Rock Orchestra, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and worked for the Aspen Music Festival and School. As a collaborative pianist, she studied at Domaine Forget Academy of Music and will study at Orford Music Academy in the summer of 2024. Sarah currently performs for private events, restaurants, and as a collaborative pianist for instrumental concerto competitions. As a two-time Forbes Under 30 Fellow, Sarah has attended the Forbes Under 30 Summits in Boston and Detroit, focused on education and social entrepreneurship. She recently spoke at the National Association for Music Education conference around collaborative education and has completed her Masters in Teaching through Antioch University Seattle.
Please submit our contact form to introduce yourself and schedule a 1-1 with Sarah.