About
Philip Oja
Philip Oja has had an extensive career as an orchestral and chamber violinist, performing with symphonies across the country, including the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony Orchestra, Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, and others.
As a chamber musician, he has performed with numerous string quartets and has been invited to serve as an ensemble coach and artist-in-residence for festivals and workshops, including the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. He has also played in public master classes for many renowned string quartets, including the Tokyo String Quartet, Juilliard String Quartet, Belcea String Quartet, Pacifica String Quartet, and Miro String Quartet.
Mr. Oja holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Violin Performance from the Irvine S. Gilmore School of Music and the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, where he studied with International Stulberg String Competition medalist Hal Grossman. During his studies, he served as Symphony Concertmaster and worked as an assistant violin teacher within the university’s music program, providing private instruction to undergraduate students.
His teachers also included Jacob Robbins and Bruce Smith—acclaimed students of Mischa Mischakoff, Dorothy DeLay, and Erick Friedman (the star protégé of Jascha Heifetz). Mr. Oja’s technical instruction is especially influenced by the Heifetz tradition, as one of his principal teachers served as Eric Friedman’s teaching assistant for several years.
With over fifteen years of teaching experience, Mr. Oja has served as Vice President of the Durham Music Teachers Association (an affiliate of the Music Teachers National Association), is an active member of the American String Teachers Association, and has taught and led master classes at music festivals and workshops around the country.
Teaching
Methodology
Mr. Oja’s instructional approach involves a fine-tuned balance of enjoyment and effort tailored to the student. Every student is a profoundly unique individual, and careful consideration is given to each one, and their varying ages, levels, maturity, interests, personality, and goals. When a student is motivated with proper care and sensitivity, they can then successfully and happily grow into the violinist and musician they have the potential to be. And that journey is an exciting and rewarding one for both student and teacher.
Students learn not only the joy of making beautiful music, but also the excitement of mastering a challenging musical passage, the thrill of giving a successful live performance, and the satisfaction of self-growth. The growth of the individual student can be felt and seen in a multitude of ways across their lives, and the skills and lessons learned are applicable to much more than the beautiful music they create.
