About Me
Biography-- Dr. Nicole Kurata Routman
Violinist Nicole Routman was raised in Tokyo, Japan, beginning violin at age five at the Talent Education Institute with Dr. Shinichi Suzuki (founder of the Suzuki Method) and his apprentices. By age eight, she entered the Preparatory Division of the Toho Academy of Music in Tokyo. Dr. Routman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Pre-Medicine from the University of Texas at Austin, studying violin with Dr. Eugene Gratovich on full scholarship. She received both her Masters in Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder, on full fellowship under the tutelage of violinist Oswald Lehnert. While at CU, Dr. Routman was a prizewinner in the Bruce Ekstrand Performance Competition and received Honorable Mention in the Honors Concerto Competition.
Prior to her full-time appointment with the Honolulu Symphony in 2006, Dr. Routman was the Assistant Principal Violin II of the Greeley Philharmonic and member of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra. Her extensive orchestral experience has also included performances with the Austin Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic, Charleston (SC) Symphony, Cheyenne Symphony, Corpus Christi Ballet, Fort Collins Symphony and Temple Symphony. She has been a participant of the Colorado Music Festival, Colorado MahlerFest, Quartz Mountain Arts Institute, Midwestern Music Camp, Interlochen and the International Music Festival in Portugal.
Dr. Routman is also equally committed to teaching, having recently served as Instructor of Violin at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006 as a professor sabbatical replacement. Other positions at CU include Part-time Instructor for the Continuing Education Department and Graduate Teaching Assistant in violin. Dr. Routman has also been a Violin Instructor at the 'Conservatory Music in the Mountains' Summer Festival in Durango, CO and at the St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, TX. Dr. Routman is currently on the faculty at Chaminade University of Honolulu. She has taught violin privately for ten years, and is a registered Suzuki Method violin instructor.
An avid chamber musician, Nikki performs regularly in workshops and recitals throughout the year. As founding member and 2nd violinist of the Veritas Quartet, her group was selected as the “emerging artist” group for the 2004 Yehudi Menuhin Chamber Music Seminar in San Francisco, performing in concert with Toby Appel and the Alexander and Cypress String Quartets. Dr. Routman studied chamber music privately with the Cavani, Ying and Takacs Quartets, Erika Eckert, Anne Epperson, Judith Glyde, and Anton Nel. Notable solo masterclass appearances include James Dick, Vadim Gluzman, Lynn Harell, Yo-Yo Ma, Roman Nodel, Itzhak Perlman, among many others. Dr. Routman was recently featured in "Tres Lindas Cubanas" on Andy Nevala - Alone Together, which released internationally in September 2007 with Capri Records, Ltd.
Nikki performs on an Italian 1879 Alphonsus Della Corte violin and a French Sartory bow.
My Teaching Philosophy
One of my primary objectives in teaching is to use music as a vehicle for non-verbal and artistic expression. Through music (the voice, movement and especially the violin), I hope to get students to recognize their strengths, and to see the joy in music. Learning music should never be a chore, so I strive to make it fun and rewarding.My philosophy is formulated around my personal childhood learning experiences, and 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.
In my experience as a teacher, the biggest lesson that I have learned has been that every child is unique, in that the same lesson plan or approach does not work everyone. I adapt my teaching method to fit the personality and learning style of each and every individual student.
I firmly believe in establishing fundamental violin skills during the early stages of learning including note-reading, as it is the foundation for technique and mastery of the instrument. Each student has different desires and experiences, so I ensure that lessons are tailored around their immediate and long-term goals, all while keeping it fun. Whether my students are taking lessons to pursue a professional career or to doing it as a hobby, I promote body/muscle awareness and proper posture for injury prevention, mental alertness and control.
I encourage students to be active in other genres of music and art forms, and to perform regularly, as I believe it develops self-expression and further strengthens skills such as memorization, anxiety issues, concentration, confidence and motivation. I strongly advocate student involvement in chamber music and orchestra at an early age of training because it is a useful tool in developing listening skills, intonation and sight-reading.
